The government believes in improving transparency for the consumer where practical. Within the EU, the UK argued for the extension of Country of Origin Labelling on fresh meats to include pork, poultry, lamb and goat meat which has applied since April 2015. There has been a requirement for Country of Origin labelling on beef since 2000. The UK has also supported Country of Origin Labelling for lightly processed dairy products such as butter and cheese and for lightly processed meat products such as bacon where this does not place unnecessary costs on businesses. We have also supported comprehensive voluntarily schemes, complementing the mandatory rules, covering many processed meat and dairy products. However, leaving the EU gives us an opportunity to consider the scope for further changes to the law in this area.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3934", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for George Eustice"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Camborne and Redruth"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "George Eustice"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-09-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-09-21T13:14:55.483Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-09-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Food: Origin Marking"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to extend country of origin labelling and related geographical origin protections to dairy and processed meat products after the UK leaves the EU.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4488", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Martyn Day"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Linlithgow and East Falkirk"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Martyn Day"} ], "uin" : "9812"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/758746", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/758746/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The United Kingdom is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Article 5.3 of the FCTC states that \u201cin setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.\u201d The Department has therefore not invited the tobacco industry to contribute to the development of the Tobacco Control Plan. The Government will continue to uphold its obligations under the World Health Organization FCTC.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4067", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Steve Brine"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Winchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Steve Brine"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-09-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-09-14T14:09:17.377Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-09-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Tobacco"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish details of all communications between his Department and the tobacco industry on the Tobacco Control Plan; and what steps he has taken to encourage tobacco companies to engage with the Government in written, as well as oral, form.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4488", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Martyn Day"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Linlithgow and East Falkirk"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Martyn Day"} ], "uin" : "9323"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/757017", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/757017/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) continually monitors and looks for ways to improve the performance and effectiveness of its processes for notifying medical conditions and making licensing decisions.<\/p>
<\/p>
The DVLA introduced an online service in October 2016 which now allows motorists to notify over 200 medical conditions online. This service has already won two awards including the Digital Public Service Innovation of the Year at the Digital Leaders 100 Awards in June 2017.<\/p>
<\/p>
In addition to the online service, the DVLA has made a number of other improvements in this area, including recruiting additional medical and administrative staff. These changes have had a positive impact on the time taken to deal with medical cases. The average time taken to make a licensing decision in the financial year 2016/17 was 37 days, down from 53 days in the 2015/16 financial year.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3991", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jesse Norman"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hereford and South Herefordshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jesse Norman"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-09-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-09-11T13:39:26.78Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-09-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Driving Licences"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the DVLA's system for reporting medical conditions.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4488", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Martyn Day"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Linlithgow and East Falkirk"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Martyn Day"} ], "uin" : "8267"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/757018", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Scotland Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/757018/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
I have had a range of discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Scottish Government ministers.<\/p>
<\/p>
UK bodies including the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and HMRC work closely with Police Scotland, Trading Standards, the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group, and industry partners across Scotland, to reduce the importation and sale of all types of counterfeits, including electrical goods.<\/p>
<\/p>
There is close collaboration between law enforcement bodies based at the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh, and more widely, to tackle this threat. For example, the IPO has recently provided funding to support training courses for 70 Trading Standards officers in Scotland.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Intellectual Property Crime Group publishes an annual report into intellectual property crime, including the sale of counterfeit goods in the UK. The latest report can be accessed at:<\/p>
<\/p>