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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to seek exemptions from dynamic alignment on animal welfare in the UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement; and when she next plans to report progress on negotiations to Parliament.

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on May 19, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where the UK needs to retain our own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiation, but the Government has been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards. While those negotiations are ongoing, Defra cannot comment further however parliament will be informed when they are concluded.