Poultry Meat

(asked on 8th October 2018) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans are being made to ensure the availability of non-UK workers in the poultry sector in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and what estimate the Government has made of the potential change in the price of chicken in the UK in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.


Answered by
David Rutley Portrait
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 16th October 2018

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 our world-leading poultry sector.

The Government wants to ensure that decisions on longer-term immigration arrangements are based on a clear and transparent evidence base. The work of Migration Advisory Commission (MAC) assessing the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society, and how to align future immigration framework with modern industrial strategy, is a key part of this.

The Home Office will carefully consider the MAC’s recommendations before setting out further detail on the UK’s future immigration system. They plan to publish a White Paper on the post-EU exit border and immigration system in the autumn.

We are determined to secure a deep and comprehensive free trade deal with the European Union that provides for frictionless, tariff-free trade. But it is the job of a responsible Government to prepare for all scenarios, including the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal. In that regard we are conducting rigorous analysis of the full range of UK-EU trade scenarios on UK agriculture (including the poultry sector) as part of our planning.

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