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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Directive (EU) 2024/1438 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 amending Council Directives 2001/110/EC relating to honey, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the divergence between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK on the regulation of honey production.

Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey was transposed in each of the four UK nations through the relevant domestic Honey Regulations.

Directive (EU) 2024/1438 creates additional requirements relating to country of origin labelling for blended honey and ensuring honey authenticity. The UK has a thriving and diverse honey market which gives consumers access to a wide range of products, from mono-floral varieties to single country origins as well as blended honeys, at a wide range of price points.

Directive (EU) 2024/1438 applies in Northern Ireland under Annex 2 of the Windsor Framework. The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland recently issued a public consultation on the transposition and enforcement of Directive 2024/1438 with respect to honey which closed on 14 May 2025. The responses are currently being assessed.

At the UK-EU Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU agreed work towards an UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (‘SPS Agreement’) to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. The scope of the agreement remains subject to negotiation but is expected to include key marketing and compositional standards, including rules on honey. Common rules on honey would pave the way for easier and smoother trading both across the UK and with the EU.