Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department will take to ensure equivalence of welfare, environmental and traceability standards in current and future trade deals that are relevant to food and drink imports.

As set out in our manifesto, we will not compromise on our high environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards in trade negotiations.

All agri-food products imported into the UK under existing or future free trade agreements will, as now, have to comply with our import requirements. A range of Government departments, agencies and bodies continue to ensure that standards are met including the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, The Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Health and Safety Executive.

In addition, since our exit from the EU we have created new functions to ensure imports meet our high standards. For example, the UK Office for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Trade Assurance has been set up within Defra to coordinate trade assurance in the UK for live animals and animal products. It will ensure trading partners meet the requirement of the UK’s biosecurity and SPS assurance regimes.

Further details on how our trade deals are consistent with the UK’s high environment, animal and plant health and animal welfare standards will be set out in the Government’s report on each trade deal as required under Section 42 of the Agriculture Act 2020. The independent Trade and Agriculture Commission is also established and will provide advice on these areas to further assist Parliamentarians in their scrutiny of future trade deals.