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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support the Northumbrian lamb industry in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal and tariffs on its products are imposed.

It is in everyone’s interests to secure a good deal with the EU and that is exactly what we are committed to. Whilst preparing for all outcomes, as any responsible government would, we are also preparing for the possibility of no deal.

We are in close contact with the sheep sector across the UK working to understand and anticipate the effects on the sector of the UK leaving the EU without a trade deal. Significant work is already underway to ensure that UK exporters can maintain access to EU markets after March 2019.