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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that the supply of (a) goods and (b) labour for the dairy industry is not (i) obstructed and (ii) delayed by the UK's exit from the EU.

The Government recognises the concerns of stakeholders and is determined to get the best deal for the UK in our negotiations to leave the EU, including for the dairy sector.

Our proposal for a common rulebook, as part of a free trade area for goods, would for agri-food cover only those rules for products that must be checked at the border. It does not cover other rules where we want regulatory flexibility in order to help our sectors to innovate and flourish. In this regard we have already announced that we will be leaving the Common Agricultural Policy and introducing a new agricultural policy that works in the best interests of land managers in England.

Until the end of December 2020, employers in the agricultural and food processing sectors can recruit EU citizens to fill vacancies and those arriving to work will be able to stay in the UK afterwards. In June 2018, the Home Office announced further details about how EU citizens and their families can obtain settled status in the UK.

After we leave the EU, we must have an immigration system which works in the best interests of the UK – controlling immigration whilst continuing to welcome those who make an invaluable contribution. That is why the Government is considering the options carefully, and will ensure that businesses and communities, including representatives from across the food chain, have the opportunity to contribute their views.

Whilst the UK prepares to leave the EU, Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for the food and farming workforce as part of the future immigration policy.

The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society, and how to align the future immigration framework with modern industrial strategy. We welcome the MAC’s interim report published in March 2018 and will consider its evidence in full when it publishes its final report in September 2018.