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

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on developing a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the European Union.

Following their meeting in Brussels on 2 October, the President of the European Commission and the Prime Minister have agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and UK, putting it on a more solid, stable footing. We have already said we will seek to negotiate a UK-EU veterinary/SPS agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. We recognise that delivering new agreements will take time, but we are ambitious, have clear priorities and want to move forward at pace.