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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK-EU trade deal will allow the roll-out of gene editing in (a) plants, (b) crops, (c) animals and (d) birds.

The EU have accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiation, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards, support public health, and support the use of new and innovative technologies.

We remain committed to moving forward with the Precision Breeding Act.

The EU are also looking to legislate in this area. We look forward to discussing further how we will work together on this issue.