My Lords, I too thank the Minister for repeating the information that has been debated already in another place. I share most of the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, particularly those about the resourcing and training of the FSA and local authorities. In fact, I expressed those concerns in debates on every single SI in this group which were responded to either by the Minister or by the noble Baroness, Lady Manzoor, so I will not repeat them. However, I still have concerns about the fact that an organisation that has been so minimally resourced until now will take on such enormous responsibilities in the future.
We are now three days away from the current exit day from the European Union. Friday happens to be a day that I share with the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, as my birthday and I very much hope to have the best possible birthday present when we do not leave the European Union on Friday and the worst possible one if we do. However, the proximity to Friday is particularly relevant to this SI because of the delay in putting it before the House. It occurs to me that there will be a lag between possible exit on Friday and the coming into force of this instrument. What effect will that have?
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On the re-evaluation process—the ongoing rolling procedure—there appears to be another time lag, because I understand that we are going to keep up with the European process until 2020 before we then take it over ourselves. What measures will be in place in the intervening time for the emergency appraisal of any new additive or for considering any new technological information that comes to light? What if something is banned in the EU in the intervening time? We certainly do not want weaker regulations. Can the Minister say anything about that?
If there is an extension to the date of exit, as we all hope, will the Minister say how the Government intend to keep businesses informed regarding if, when and how they should prepare for a no-deal scenario? Stakeholders have asked whether the Government will commit to a close working relationship with the EFSA based on the exchange of information and expertise, contributions to scientific networks and cross-European collaboration. When do the Government intend to make a decision on the UK’s involvement in these important intelligence-gathering tools, including the rapid alert system for food and feed, the European food fraud network and the EFSA’s emerging risks exchange network? We have asked questions about this before. We have had some reassurance, but I do not think firm decisions have yet been made, I suppose because they are subject to ongoing negotiations.
Several important questions were not asked or considered during the consultation. What do the Government intend to do regarding, for instance, legislation surrounding export health certificates and the reference laboratories? Can the Government give more details on the timely and consistent involvement of the devolved nations in the enactment of this SI? We do not want to have divergence among the home nations in relation to these instruments, even for a short time.