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1239178

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Export Health Certificates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that the new online system for Export Health Certificates for meat products dispatched from the UK is able to meet demand; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that that system is operational by the end of 2020.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Patricia Gibson
uin	97619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>The Export Health Certificates (EHC) Online service has been available for trade with third countries since June 2020. It replaces the current manual process for applying for EHCs.</p><p> </p><p>The 150 most frequently used third country EHCs (representing 80% of current throughput) are available via the EHC Online service. There will be further releases of third country EHCs on the online service before the end of 2020.</p><p> </p><p>APHA plan to make EHCs for EU trade available via EHC Online from mid-October. This will offer traders visibility of the documentation they will be required to use at the end of the transition period.</p><p> </p><p>The EHC Online service has been developed with the capability to meet future demand in export trade. Defra estimate that up to an additional 300,000 Export Health Certificates may be required annually to facilitate EU trade. The EHC Online system has been designed and stress tested to process transactions in excess of this.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/10/2020 15:17:35 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4435 label Biography information for Patricia Gibson

1239179

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Export Health Certificates: Veterinary Medicine
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that there will be sufficient numbers of qualified vets to inspect and sign off consignments of meat to be dispatched from the UK so that they can be issued an export health certificate after the end of the transition period.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Patricia Gibson
uin	97620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government has increased the number of Official Veterinarians (OVs) holding the relevant qualification to certify exports of products of animal origin, including meat products, in Great Britain from approximately 600 in February 2019 to more than 1200 today. On 1 October 2020, we launched a new £200,000 funded training scheme to enhance OV capacity further. In parallel, we launched a £100,000 scheme to train Certification Support Officers (CSOs). CSOs can handle several preliminary and administrative tasks to prepare consignments for certification. This reduces the burden on OVs and Local Authority Certifying Officers. More than 100 CSOs have been authorised in GB to date.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/10/2020 15:32:43 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4435 label Biography information for Patricia Gibson

1239181

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Meat Products: Labelling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the Government's new health mark scheme allows groupage of exports from the UK to the EU; and when he plans to inform businesses who sell fresh and frozen meat to EU countries of the details of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Patricia Gibson
uin	97622
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>To help traders prepare for changes to export arrangements for animals and products of animal origin (POAO) from 1 January 2021, we are hosting a series of webinars from mid-October. Specimen Export Health Certificates and accompanying guidance notes for trade between Great Britain and the EU have been made available on the GOV.UK website, to enable exporters and certifiers to familiarise themselves with the detailed requirements.</p><p> </p><p>A Groupage Export Facilitation Scheme was developed in consultation with industry to help facilitate the export of certain commodities with complex but stable supply chains, including composite products, meat products and meat preparations, for use from 1 January 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The Food Standards Agency is finalising its new guidance to the food industry covering which health and identification marks should be used on POAO after the end of the Transition Period. We anticipate that this will be published shortly.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/10/2020 15:26:43 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4435 label Biography information for Patricia Gibson

1239270

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Animal Experiments: Chemicals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure there is no duplication of chemical tests performed on animals from UK organisations which had previously supplied the relevant registration data to the European Chemicals Agency under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, after the end of the transition period.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North
tabling member printed	Patrick Grady
uin	97615
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>Under UK REACH, we will recognise the validity of any animal tests on products that have already been undertaken and so avoid the need for further testing</p><p> </p><p>The grandfathering of all existing UK-held REACH registrations into the UK system will further avoid the need to duplicate animal testing associated with re-registration.</p><p><br> We are determined that there should be no need for any additional animal testing for a chemical that has already been registered, unless it is subject to further evaluation that shows the registration dossier is inadequate or there are still concerns about the hazards and risks of the chemical, especially to human health.</p><p><br> The UK has been at the forefront of opposing animal tests where alternative approaches could be used. This is known as the &quot;last-resort principle&quot;, which we will retain and enshrine in legislation through our landmark Environment Bill.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 05/10/2020 12:17:30 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4432 label Biography information for Patrick Grady

1239384

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 11 August 2020 on flood pumps and the effects of flooding in West Lancashire.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	97511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. Defra is currently dealing with high volumes of correspondence due to COVID-19. It has also been necessary to consult the Environment Agency to provide as accurate and helpful a response as possible, which has taken time. I understand the hon. Member has also separately written to the Environment Agency on some of the points raised in these letters and the Environment Agency has responded.</p><p> </p><p>A reply to the hon. Member has been prepared and will be issued very shortly.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 05/10/2020 16:28:02 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1239385

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond the letters of 11 August 2020, 28 August 2020 and 7 September 2020 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire on flooding on Crabtree Lane in Burscough and responsibility for flood management.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	97512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. Defra is currently dealing with high volumes of correspondence due to COVID-19. It has also been necessary to consult the Environment Agency to provide as accurate and helpful a response as possible, which has taken time. I understand the hon. Member has also separately written to the Environment Agency on some of the points raised in these letters and the Environment Agency has responded.</p><p> </p><p>The replies will be with the hon. Member as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 05/10/2020 16:12:37 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1239426

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Fisheries: Norway
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which species of fish are mentioned in the UK-Norway Fisheries Framework Agreement of 30 September 2020; and what changes that agreement makes to quotas.
tabling member constituency	Na h-Eileanan an Iar
tabling member printed	Angus Brendan MacNeil
uin	97515
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>The UK-Norway fisheries framework agreement does not refer to any species of fish or quotas of fish stocks, nor does it provide for any access to UK waters. The framework agreement sets out that these issues will the subject of annual negotiations between the parties.</p><p> </p><p>Certain stocks in the North Sea that are jointly managed between the UK, Norway and the EU will be subject to trilateral discussions between the parties.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/10/2020 09:47:12 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	1546 label Biography information for Angus Brendan MacNeil

1238714

registered interest
date	29/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Air Pollution
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to align the UK's target for PM2.5 with the World Health Organisation's guideline amount.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	97045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>In July 2019, the Government published a report assessing the progress that will be made towards World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines under a range of scenarios. The report concluded that while significant progress would be made by achieving existing 2030 emissions ceilings, additional action would be required in large urban areas such as London to achieve the current WHO guideline level. The analysis did not outline a pathway to achieve the WHO guideline level for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the country and did not take into account full economic viability and practical deliverability.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Bill, which will be introduced shortly, will establish a legally binding duty to set a target for PM2.5, demonstrating our commitment to action on the air pollutant that has the most significant impact on human health. We are committed to setting ambitious targets and following an evidence-based process, seeking advice from a range of experts, in addition to giving consideration to the WHO’s air quality guidelines. We are already working with independent experts and engaging with stakeholders on how we will approach setting these targets.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 05/10/2020 12:12:15 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1238787

registered interest
date	29/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food: Labelling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to issue guidance on labelling requirements for products after the transition period ends to agri-food firms in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	Carla Lockhart
uin	97061
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>Ministers meet regularly with food manufacturers, and representatives of other parts of the supply chain from across the UK, to discuss preparations for the end of the transition period including for food labelling. <br> <br> The GOV.UK website provides cross-UK guidance on these matters and is kept under review and updated as appropriate. The EU has set out its position on how food and drink should be labelled where EU rules apply. <br> <br> We will provide a period of adjustment for labelling changes required at the end of the transition period, wherever this is possible. During this period, the changes that UK businesses need to make when selling between different markets will be minimised. We are working to determine the appropriate time industry needs to make changes and will provide guidance as soon as we can do so, to ensure that businesses have clarity and certainty.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/10/2020 09:10:05 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4857 label Biography information for Carla Lockhart

1238798

registered interest
date	29/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Supply: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the stockpiling of food and other essentials in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	96918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>The UK has a highly-resilient food supply chain and a food industry which is experienced in dealing with disruptions to food supply. The expertise, capability and levers to plan for, and respond to, food supply disruption lie predominantly with the industry, but the Government has a supportive role.</p><p> </p><p>This includes extensive and ongoing engagement to support industry in preparedness for, and response to, potential food supply chain disruptions, as well coordinating a joined-up approach to communications and messaging with industry leads based on learnings from the response earlier in the year. The Government response can include relaxation of key regulations to support food supply on driver hours, delivery times, advice on food labelling and on competition law for key sectors.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst we saw an increase in consumer demand at the outset of the pandemic, things have largely stabilised. We remain in regular contact with the supermarkets and industry representatives, who report no overall supply issues.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/10/2020 16:32:32 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher