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 impact of a common sanitary and phytosanitary area with the EU on rules on the processing of waste from flights to the UK originating within the EU.

We will agree a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. Details of the agreement remain subject to negotiation.

However, we expect that under the Agreement, catering waste from flights originating within the EU will no longer be classified as ‘international catering waste’, and therefore will be subject to a lesser degree of regulation in the future under the SPS Agreement.