My Lords, in harmony with our commitment on the Labour Front Bench to recycling, I am speaking for my party in a guest slot. These regulations are complex and somewhat impenetrable—I think I drew the short straw—so I am afraid they raise many questions, some of which may be related to, but not directly affected by, these regulations. I hope the Minister will forgive me for that. Personally, I very much support the points just made by the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, on circus animals.
According to figures that I have seen, products of animal origin and live animals imported to the UK are valued at over £19.3 billion each year. Of this, 80%—about £15 billion, which is twice the amount suggested by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh—comes from trade with the EU. This covers an area of huge significance to our agricultural economy and the economy as a
whole; given its effects, it also risks a further nudge for the nation in the direction of veganism should the trade be too much disrupted.
As we have heard, the UK will be treated by the EU as a third country if we leave without a deal. The SLSC recommended that the SIs be subject to the affirmative procedure, and I welcome the Government’s decision to accept this recommendation.
Without listed status, no exports to the EU can take place. Defra’s no-deal technical notice confirmed that,
“The EU would require the UK to be a listed third country”,
and it could not,
“be certain of the EU response or its timing”,
for an application. Without this,
“no exports … could take place”.
Can the Minister tell us what the usual timeframes are for dealing with third country applications? As we have heard, there are concerns that this could take up to nine months.
In order to be prepared for all possible outcomes, we understand that the UK submitted its application for listing as a third country in November. Can the Minister assure the Committee that the UK’s application will be granted? Have the Government formally requested that the UK’s application be expedited? Is the Minister 100% confident that, in the event that we leave the EU on 29 March with no deal, the approval for the export of live animals and animal products will have been granted in time for day one? If not 100% confident, what level of confidence does he have, and how will that change if there is a delay—to, say, June—for a no-deal exit?
The NFU says it has been told informally that, although Britain is in complete regulatory alignment with the EU, if there is no deal the same health checks that countries such as China and the US undergo will apply to UK suppliers. This would mean that 6,000 meat processing plants that export to the EU would have to undergo individual audits by British authorities. These would be checked by EU officials and then put to a standing veterinary committee for approval, a process that the NFU has calculated will take six months, “at a conservative reading”. These checks will also be conducted on any other companies supplying food and drink to the EU, including those exporting bottled water, honey, jam, dairy and other fresh foods. Does the Minister agree with this projection by the National Farmers’ Union? What is his assessment of the impact on the viability of food and drink businesses in the UK in the short and long term if that is the case?
I turn now to model certificates. Paragraph 7.2 of the Explanatory Memorandum states that the instrument,
“has provision to allow existing forms of model certificates to continue to be used for transitional purposes for such period as is published by the appropriate authority”.
I would love it if the Minister could expand a little on this. Is it dependent on the transition period following a deal, or can this also apply in the event of no deal? The use of the word “transitional” is quite confusing in that respect.
Then there are border checks. Under EU law, all animal and agri-food, including animal feed and plant produce, has to go through health checks. However,
the necessary border inspection posts do not exist at, for example, Calais. This is because those checks have not been needed for anyone trading within the single market. The nearest border inspection posts are in Zeebrugge and Rotterdam, which have historically acted as the gateway for non-EU traffic, or Liverpool on the route to Ireland. Does the Minister envisage placing UK officers in Rotterdam, or will we reply on post-import checks within the UK?
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A no-deal Brexit will require more work from vets to meet increased demands for the certification needed for the export of animals and animal products and for pet travel. In addition, exiting from EU surveillance systems and uncertainty around access to medicines could have negative impacts on animal health and welfare further down the line, requiring yet more veterinary capacity. The Public Accounts Committee has warned:
“In a no-deal scenario there is a risk of UK exports of animals and animal products being delayed at borders because of a shortage of vets”.
That committee also found that the department is cavalier about there being enough suitably qualified staff to take on this work. What help are the Government providing vets—this echoes the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Trees—in the event of a no-deal scenario to prepare for increased demand for export health certificates for animals and animal products? Does the Minister share my concern that a no-deal Brexit will exacerbate the current shortages in the veterinary profession and create significant risks for trade, animal health and welfare, and food safety?
Further, in the event of a no-deal scenario, what help is going to be provided to prepare for increased demand for export health certificates? What will be done to safeguard animal welfare in the scenario of live animals being stuck in trucks for long periods as they wait to go through ports and border inspection posts? Do we have to depend on the failing Secretary of State for Transport’s use of disused airfields for queuing freight including, for example, provision for livestock grazing?
The department has created a new role, that of the certification support officer, to provide administrative support for official vets so that they can more easily process the new export health certificates. The main concern of the British Veterinary Association is about who will do some of the checking and that they have the required level of skills. Can the Minister assure the Committee that the veterinary professional will remain as the provider of oversight and reassurance for the whole process of this trade?
I turn to the question of border inspection posts. From my research, it appears that there are none in Wales and the only facilities in Northern Ireland are in Belfast. Is my understanding correct that, if I am a farmer on the Northern Ireland border who wants to take livestock across the border to the Republic, once I have the export certification, and assuming my hauliers have successfully applied for and received their international driving licence, I then have to take my animals to Belfast airport for inspection before driving them back to cross into the Republic of Ireland.
Is that right? How much cost will that add? Will the border inspection posts have the capacity for this? Is the Minister making any efforts to expand the number of border inspection posts to ease this burden on farmers?
In respect of hygiene and health, I too have seen the Friends of the Earth briefing. The only point that I will pick up on is one that has not been mentioned already. Regulation 26 provides that, in Part 2 of Annexe I,
“in the section headed ‘Notes’, omit the general notes and additional notes for day old chicks”.
One of the notes under this heading requires that chicks not destined for the EU or with lower quality health should not be transported together. This is not replaced, which will allow for chicks of a lesser quality of health and thus more susceptible to disease and infection to be transported alongside those that meet the health standards of the UK and, as such, possibly subjecting healthy chicks to disease. Why is this change being made? I also share the concerns raised by my noble friend Lord Rooker and the noble Baroness, Lady Masham, in respect of Regulation 50.
I turn now to trade deals. Although the UK is under no legal obligation to adhere to EU rules for trade following EU exit, failure to do so could result in the UK being unable to trade in animals and their products with EU member states and third countries. We therefore welcome these regulations which seek to maintain current standards, legislation and arrangements relating to such trade on the day the UK leaves the EU. Food safety and harmonisation will also have a lot to do with who we sign free trade deals with. There is significant public concern about the implications of a US trade deal for the quality and standard of British food, given the routine use of chemicals and antibiotics used in food production to promote faster growth. Washing chicken in chlorine and feeding growth hormones to beef are both legal in the US but currently banned in the EU. Will maintaining the existing important regime prevent chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef from being imported to the UK? The World Health Organization is concerned that overuse of antibiotics in farming is a major contributor to antibiotic resistance worldwide. Can the Minister advise whether the regulations will prevent antibiotic-farmed produce, banned in the EU, from being imported? If so, will the Minister commit to preserving these standards when making future trade deals?
There is also the matter of cost. Leaving the EU without a deal would cause considerable disruption to the UK’s import system, which would be likely to lead to additional costs for importers and stakeholders. Furthermore, the Minister has advised that these instruments make technical amendments to maintain the existing standards and no impact is anticipated. However, paragraph 6.1 of the Explanatory Memorandum says that these regulations include,
“amendments to the domestic powers to recover fees in relation to activity relating to imports of animals and animal products from the EU”.
Does the Minister accept that there may well be additional requirements and costs to stakeholders, and will he commit to a public consultation on any fee increases allowed by these regulations?
I have a few concerns around science, innovation and research. The main concern around the impact of Brexit on science and innovation is about the supply of essential resources to conduct biomedical research and development here in the UK. Animals are used in biomedical and veterinary research to advance scientific understanding, to develop solutions to medical problems to protect the safety of people, animals and the environment and as models to study disease. Critical to the continuing success of our highly significant life sciences centre will be the timely and efficient transport, import to and export from the UK of purpose-bred research animals; biological samples—such as blood, tissues, organs, embryos—from these; medical and pharmaceutical supplies; and supplies of specialised animal feed and research diets for that sector.
In a no-deal scenario, exports of biological samples would require compliance with customs formalities and export health certificates for each individual shipment and for all animal species. As a third party to the EU, the UK will need to negotiate each certificate’s content separately with each member state. When the UK leaves the EU, the efficient supply of animals and animal-derived products should be maintained without delays to ensure continued support of the sector, to protect the welfare of animals and to retain the integrity of any consignment being transported.
However, many stakeholders remain concerned about the UK’s capacity to cope with the demand for export health certificates and CITES permits. The National Office of Animal Health has specifically raised concern that the replacement for the EU trade control and export system, IPAFFS, referred to in the Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, will not be fully functional on day one of a no-deal scenario, with stakeholders unsure how to use the system. Is the Minister confident that the required IT systems will be up and running? Assuming that this is being developed using modern techniques, is it currently being user tested? How long is the beta phase likely to last? What discussions have taken place with stakeholders to prepare them to use the new system? Has the department prepared and published user guidance? If not, when will it? The no-deal guidance published last week states:
“Businesses importing animals and animal products from within the EU will need to use a separate interim system until the summer”.
Can the Minister elaborate? How many businesses will be affected?
I have a couple more points to make. On the pet travel scheme, the Explanatory Memorandum advises that the amendments are required to ensure that safe pet travel without quarantine can continue in the UK. We have heard how important and significant that is. Can the Minister update the Committee on the UK’s ongoing application to become a listed third country for the purposes of pet travel between the UK and the EU?
Finally, regarding the Friends of the Earth briefing, I also noted the incoherent amendments referred to by my noble friend Lord Rooker. There was also an issue around penalties: Regulation 43 requires Article 42 of the EU regulation to be omitted. This places a duty on
the Commission to assign penalties for failure to comply with these regulations. Without an appropriate body to replace the Commission’s role, I fear failure to comply with this regulation could go without penalty.
I look forward to the Minister’s reply on that issue and to my questions, of which there were far too many.