Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps through the World Trade Organisation to help restrict the size of the Chinese distant water fleet and its impact on fish stocks.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
WTO Members reached a landmark agreement at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference to prohibit the most harmful fisheries subsidies contributing to Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing, the fishing of overfished stocks, and fishing on the high seas. Members also committed to continue negotiations on prohibiting subsidies contributing to overfishing and overcapacity. The agreement will help improve the health of global fish stocks and the sustainable blue economy. This is also the first WTO agreement specifically addressing environmental sustainability, hopefully setting a precedent for future agreements of this kind. All members, including China, are now in the process of ratifying the agreement.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether officials from her Department attended courses on (a) SPS agreements, (b) trade and the environment and (c) agriculture agreements at the World Trade Organisation in each year since the EU referendum in June 2016; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials have attended courses and other learning events on SPS agreements, trade and the environment, and agriculture agreements at the World Trade Organisation since 2017 (there is no record for 2016). This includes learning that is regularly on offer through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Trade Faculty. In addition, officials have attended seminars and presentations from departmental experts as part of Defra’s internal trade capability offer that ensures officials are fully equipped to deliver the Government’s trade objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to obtain agreement for climate change mitigation measures through the World Trade Organization.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is working with international partners to help tackle climate change and champion the multilateral trading system through the World Trade Organisation, in line with our global ambition on climate change. The UK is actively engaged at the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) group to accelerate progress towards multilateral solutions, including to promote trade in environmental goods and services and find solutions to help mitigate carbon leakage risk.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to publish a comprehensive strategy on how to address global food insecurity.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The FCDO has a comprehensive action plan to address food insecurity, which was set out in the response to the International Development Committee's recent report on the hunger crisis. The main elements of the action plan are:
Continuing to get the grain out of Ukraine to help stabilise prices.
Prioritising our humanitarian resources to the most vulnerable in the countries at greatest risk of famine.
Securing a coordinated international response, working closely with our international partners, including through the G7 and G20.
Supporting fertiliser availability to avoid a food availability crisis in 2023.
Being clear that UK sanctions against Russia have never targeted exports of food or fertiliser.
Influencing the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to substantially frontload resources and take action to support the most vulnerable counties
Expanding disaster risk finance and insurance cover to help protect against future drought in African countries.
Lobbying key countries to lift trade restrictions and encouraging others not to impose restrictions and if they do, to do so transparently and inform World Trade Organisation.
Mobilising investments in food and agriculture productivity and resilience, including through high-impact research and innovation, and Influencing climate resilient and sustainable production policies.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) plant and (b) animal diseases are screened for when importing products into the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a strong, risk-based regulatory regime in place which implements a comprehensive range of the Government's measures across the plant biosecurity continuum (pre-border, at the border, and inland) to minimise biosecurity risks and meet World Trade Organisation standards. Import requirements for Great Britain are in place to guard against a wide range of regulated plant pests and diseases and to detect any new and emerging issues requiring assessment and possible mitigation. These requirements include a prohibition on the highest risk trees and the phytosanitary certification of regulated plants (including trees) which are permitted for import, to provide official confirmation that prescribed conditions have been complied with. Such imports must be pre-notified to the Government and are subject to an official inspection and surveillance programme. Similar arrangements are in place in Northern Ireland, under the Northern Ireland P rotocol.
We constantly review whether further safeguards are needed and have a scientific process to assess the changing threats to plant biosecurity. The UK Plant Health Risk Register contains details of over 1400 plant pests and pathogens, 30% of which can affect trees. Risks are reviewed monthly with Ministers and prioritised for action such as further regulation or increased inspections.
The UK requires competent authorities in EU and non-EU countries to provide health certificates to exporters of animals and animal products to the UK. The health certificates are tailored for the species or type of product imported into the UK and sum up a number of compulsory conditions for animals and products of animal origin to be imported into the UK . The certificates require guarantees of freedom from exotic and notifiable animal diseases in the UK, including Foot and Mouth Disease, Avian Influenza, Newcastle Disease and also all other exotic 1 and endemic 2 diseases of animals.
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1Exotic disease - not normally present in the UK, such as foot and mouth disease
2Endemic disease - already present in the UK, such as bovine TB
The gov.uk page is the main source of information on notifiable and exotic disease available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/notifiable-diseases-in-animals.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to (a) take steps to mitigate the impact of climate change on (i) agriculture and (ii) global food security and (b) revitalise the international trade of food in the context of the effect on global food production of (A) the international response to covid-19 and (B) global warming.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is committed to take action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impact. We are introducing three schemes that reward environmental benefits: the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. Together, these schemes are intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and our commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy. Through them, farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering public goods including adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
The Government has also published the Net Zero Strategy which sets the UK on a clear path to net zero by 2050 and set out key commitments such as ensuring 75% of farmers in England will be engaged in low carbon practices by 2030, rising to 85% by 2035. More recently in the Food Strategy we have set out the funding available for innovation in farming and agriculture.
The UK announced an Agriculture Breakthrough goal at COP26 - "to make climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture the most attractive and widely adopted option for farmers everywhere by 2030" - and the intention to build country support for this in 2022. This is part of the Breakthrough Agenda which was launched at the COP26 World Leaders Summit. The Breakthrough Agenda is a commitment from countries to work together internationally this decade to accelerate the development and deployment of the clean technologies needed to meet our Paris climate goals, ensuring they are affordable and accessible for all.
The UK provides funding to the CGIAR, the world's leading agricultural science and innovation organisation, which delivers cutting edge technology and evidence-based solutions to tackle global challenges in the food system, saving and improving millions of lives. CGIAR research is projected to deliver a reduction of 0.6 gigatonnes CO2e each year by 2030. CGIAR rice innovations alone have scope to reduce global emissions by 0.5% - equivalent to 40% of total UK emissions.
The Government has also announced specific measures to support farmers with rising input costs including changes to statutory guidance to the "Farming Rules for Water"; increased grants funding to boost R&D; and bringing the Basic Payment Scheme forward so that 50% of its payments are made this summer to improve cash flow for farmers.
The Food Standards Agency has provided guidance to Trading Standards Officers and businesses setting out how flexibility in enforcement of labelling rules may be applied to alleviate supply challenges and maintain supply of foods into retail. Feedback has been that industry welcomes these actions, and the main ask going forward is for us to carefully review the supply situation before reverting to a 'full compliance' model of enforcement.
Defra is taking a number of actions to maintain food security and reduce pressures on prices. The Government launched a package of measures to reduce the impact of cost of living concerns, including: nine new GMO authorisations to provide alternative sources for maize, removing tariffs on US maize, bringing forward BPS payments for farmers and delaying measures that would have imposed costs on businesses.
Furthermore, G7 Leaders have pledged to provide increased humanitarian assistance with priority recipients should include countries facing acute food insecurity (for example Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen), and countries facing potential food riots (such as Egypt).
The UK’s ambitious Free Trade Agreement programme diversifies sources of supply, contributes to our food security and resilience and supplements our strong domestic production.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Government's position on a TRIPS waiver at the World Health Organisation on the global distribution of vaccines.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon. Member for Stockport to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington on July 2022 (UIN: 25725). I would also like to note that discussions on a TRIPS Decision were held at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and not at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) India, (b) the US, (c) South Africa and (d) the EU on an agreed draft deal for a time limited waiver on covid-19 vaccine manufacture ahead of the World Trade Organisation’s 12th Ministerial Conference from 12 to 15 June 2022.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Membership reached a consensus-based decision on the TRIPS Agreement at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), held between 12 and 17 June 2022. The Decision, which has a five-year duration and is limited to COVID-19 vaccines, streamlines compulsory licencing processes for developing countries. The UK engaged constructively in the discussions with the wider WTO Membership, including India, the US, South Africa and the EU, demonstrating flexibility to help broker consensus.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if the Government will take steps to support the time limited waiver on covid-19 vaccine manufacture in the global south ahead of the World Trade Organisation’s 12th Ministerial Conference from 12 to 15 June 2022.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Membership reached a consensus-based decision on the TRIPS Agreement at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), held between 12 and 17 June 2022. The Decision, which has a five-year duration and is limited to COVID-19 vaccines, streamlines compulsory licencing processes for developing countries. The UK engaged constructively in the discussions with the wider WTO Membership, including India, the US, South Africa and the EU, demonstrating flexibility to help broker consensus.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings they have had with ambassadors at the World Trade Organisation with (1) the African group, and (2) the Least-developed countries group, about negotiations on the COVID-19 text produced by the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The UK has continuously engaged with the African Group and the Least Developed Countries Group, represented by Tanzania and Bangladesh respectively, throughout the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) debate. A consensus-based agreement on a TRIPS Decision was reached at the World Trade Organisation’s 12th Ministerial Conference, which both groups are eligible to use.