My Lords, I thank my noble friend for introducing the seven sets of regulations. At this time of night, having sat here from about 3 pm, other Members will be delighted that I will not repeat everything I have written down, because he clearly introduced the regulations in the correct manner.
I am very grateful to Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Sub-Committee A for its 18th report, which looked at the regulations and which it followed up in its 19th report with some extra questions. My noble friend may want to pick up on some of them when he responds. I should declare the family farming interest, in particular the fact that we receive payments, including for environmental matters.
This is a very important group of statutory instruments which cover matters such as aid for private storage, aid schemes, marketing standards—which are particularly important—labelling, packaging, production methods, conservation and storage and transport certification, to name but a few in the first instrument. The Explanatory Memorandum on the third instrument, on marketing measures, states that our retained EU law is being kept as close as we can to the current system. Paragraph 7.2 refers particularly to public intervention and aid for storage, aid schemes generally, marketing standards, producer organisations, import and export rules—which are extremely important—and crisis measures, which my noble friend did not mention but which he might also want to pick up when he responds.
On the fourth SI, on marketing measures payment schemes, managing market volatility is again particularly important. Perhaps my noble friend can say a little more about that when he responds. The collaboration and competitiveness of agricultural producers is hugely important: bringing producers together so that we can gain competitiveness in the international trade in which we shall be competing. Promotion and high standards are particularly important, as are the production methods to which they refer. Awareness and recognition of EU quality schemes is increasingly important, and the statutory instruments allow us to achieve that. My noble friend did not mention—but there is so much for him to mention in these statutory instruments, it is probably just as well for us tonight that he did not go through the whole lot—the safety proposed to farmers by removing surplus products. Again, perhaps he would pick up on that. I shall not comment on the fifth statutory instrument at all.
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The sixth SI concerns the legislative functions in the EU regulations relating to the CMO schemes, CAP financing, organic food and feed, and the management and monitoring that would be inoperable if we did not move these provisions across. I want to raise two issues with my noble friend on that SI. First, there is the establishment of a system of price reporting within the sugar sector. I am intrigued by that. That is presumably within our UK growing of sugar, rather than the international aspect, particularly from the ACP and Latin American countries, which also produce cane sugar. I should say that on our farm we produce sugar. Secondly, it is an instrument to react to market disturbance. My noble friend did not pick up on that, but perhaps he can cover that in his concluding remarks.
Lastly, I turn quickly to the Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations. It is hugely important that we continue to ensure that we have full and correct identification and movement of animals in this country. We have had
some terrible times over recent years, and we need to keep well on top of how we deal with livestock records. The 14th report of the committee identified the possibility of fee charging. Perhaps the Minister could reflect on that.
I have touched on only some of the issues raised. There is a whole group of them. We could have had a mini-debate on all of them but, at this time of night, for fear of being wearisome, I hope that I have picked up some of the points that my noble friend was unable to touch on and that he will respond when he winds up.