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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) supermarkets and (b) other retailers on the potential impact of the closure of the Movement Assistance Scheme on those businesses.

The Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) was always intended to be time limited. It was originally scheduled to close in December 2023. The decision to extend MAS until June 2025 was made public on 10th October 2023 and there was never a suggestion it would extend beyond this date. However, the Department remains committed to ensuring the smooth flow of trade within the UK internal market, as demonstrated by the ongoing support for traders moving goods to Northern Ireland and the work to reach an SPS agreement with the EU.

Last year, retailers and trade representative bodies were reminded that the scheme was closing as planned and large retailers were offered 1:1 meetings.