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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to seek the ability to be to able to ban food imports on animal welfare grounds under World Trade Organization terms.

We remain firmly committed to upholding our world-leading animal welfare standards as an independent trading nation.

The UK will not compromise its high standards of animal welfare in any trade partnerships or agreements. In accordance with existing World Trade Organisation rules, we retain the ability to regulate for the protection and improvement of animal welfare.