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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of research presented to the Scottish Government on Ultra High Frequency electronic identification technology in livestock.

Defra is aware of research papers published by Scot EID and have gathered further evidence through our own research and extensive engagement with farmers and industry.

Defra and the Welsh Government commissioned Harper Adams University to conduct an independent study of the two types of EID technology. This found fewer challenges associated with low frequency than ultra-high frequency technology. The findings of this study have now been published and can be found on Defra Science Search pages.

Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK. This is to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.