I do not want to give the noble Lord an exact commitment but, as I have said, we hope to have it by Report stage. If that is not the case we will look at what can be done in its place.
Amendment 30 seeks to transfer the obligations contained in Article 13—to have regard to the welfare requirements of animals as sentient beings when developing and implementing certain EU policies—to domestic law. Unlike Article 13, however, the amendment applies only to the formulation rather than the formulation and implementation of law and policy. Furthermore, once the UK has left the EU we will obviously no
longer be a member state and therefore no longer formulate or implement any EU laws or policies. Therefore, by referring to the obligations contained in Article 13, it is not clear what the effect of the amendment would be in practice. Although it is assumed that its intention is to require the welfare requirements of animals to be taken into account in formulating domestic law and policy, it appears that the amendment would only require it when formulating and implementing EU policy and law, which of course we would no longer be doing. As I have said, the Government have published a draft Bill which introduces a clear duty on Ministers to have regard for animal welfare when formulating and implementing all government policy and not only the six areas I mentioned earlier.
Amendment 98, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, seeks to apply the requirements of Article 13 to the use of Clause 7. It would require Ministers to pay full regard to animal welfare requirements when introducing any legislation under Clause 7. I remind noble Lords that the purpose of Clause 7 is to allow the Government to address deficiencies in retained EU law arising from our withdrawal. Clause 7 provides powers for Ministers to make secondary legislation to deal with any problem that would arise on exit—for example, to remedy any provisions that would have no practical application after the UK has left the EU.
However, the power is temporary and can only be used for up to two years after exit. After that point it will expire. Similarly, the proposed amendment to Clause 7 would only have effect for two years from the date of our withdrawal from the EU. The amendment would also only apply to those regulations introduced by Ministers before March 2021 for the purposes of addressing deficiencies arising from our withdrawal. Therefore, the limited protection provided for animals by the amendment would also expire on 30 March 2021.
The amendment would not hold Ministers to the standards required in Article 13 two years after we have left the EU and, therefore, would weaken the current obligation in Article 13. The provisions set out in our draft Bill in December go beyond the two years following our exit from the EU and will apply to more than just those regulations that deal only with any deficiencies arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
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The purpose of Amendment 212, tabled by my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering, appears to be to require the Government to negotiate an agreement with the EU on the importation of live animals from the EU regardless of where the animals originate. It further seeks to ensure that any such agreement requires imported animals to have been raised and kept in accordance with UK welfare standards. I can reassure noble Lords that there is no need for such an amendment as the Government are already seeking to ensure that our high welfare standards are maintained. The Bill will transfer to the UK statute book all EU food safety and animal welfare standards. Our current high standards, including import requirements, will apply when we leave the EU.
Further, a system whereby we would need to check every single animal imported into the UK to ascertain the conditions under which it had been kept prior to import would be extremely difficult to enforce and extremely costly to administer. The Government are proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce and we have no intention of undercutting our reputation for quality by lowering our food and animal welfare standards in pursuit of any trade deal. We have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and the Government have made it clear that we intend not only to maintain but to enhance these standards as we leave the EU.
My noble friend Lady McIntosh and the noble Baronesses, Lady Bakewell, asked me about the Food Standards Agency. Defra is working closely with the FSA to ensure that the food safety regulatory regime remains robust as the UK leaves the EU. The number of new checks post-exit for EU imports into the UK of live animals, and therefore the staff needed, will depend on the outcome of the negotiations. I thank the noble Baroness for raising that point.
The noble Lord, Lord Wigley, asked about the devolved Administrations. I can assure him that the National Assembly for Wales will retain all the powers it currently has to implement animal welfare legislation. We are discussing with Ministers in the devolved Governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland whether or not the animal provisions in our Bill should apply to them.
The noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, asked about the number of vets at the point of slaughter. We recognise the key role that veterinary surgeons from the EU and the rest of the world have played in maintaining public health and animal welfare both within our own government service and within the wider veterinary service. UK law requires that official vets be in attendance at slaughter houses, and this will not change post exit.
It is important that consumers have confidence in the food they eat, and this will not change when we leave the EU. There are a number of possible measures which could be adopted and the issue is under active consideration.
I hope I have provided assurance to the noble Baroness and that she will feel content to withdraw the amendment.