My Lords, I thank the Minister for his explanation of the purpose of this SI.
The CITES international agreement is an absolutely vital protection for endangered wild animals and plants, as the Minister explained. We know that the trade across borders is worth billions of pounds. It covers exotic live animals as well as animal products and plants. Sadly, it attracts some of the most unscrupulous international gangs, which will readily flout the rules in pursuit of profit. So it is crucial that we have robust laws to ensure that the rules are properly enforced and that no loopholes can be exploited. So far, we on these Benches have supported the UK Government’s leadership on international co-operation with CITES, although we believe that they could have moved faster to enforce and expand UK laws to protect endangered species.
It is important that the regulations before us today are absolutely watertight. This is particularly important as the application of the Northern Ireland protocol opens up a new dynamic in border control. We do not want any minor discrepancies between the different regimes in Great Britain and Northern Ireland—and, by extension, in the single market—to unintentionally open loopholes that could be exploited by criminal gangs.
These regulations will make clear the separation between CITES as it will operate in Great Britain after the end of the transition period and the EU regulations that will operate in Northern Ireland. As the Explanatory Memorandum makes clear in paragraph 7.5:
“A consequence of the arrangements made under the Protocol is that CITES permits and relevant checks will be required for movement of CITES specimens between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.”
So I ask the Minister for more details about how he sees these checks taking place, following on from some of questions posed by the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter. Can he explain where the customs posts will be sited and how many border crossing points he envisages carrying out these checks?
This trade is specialised, and the smugglers are often very devious. The Minister has already explained that the customs staff carrying out this work have
been appropriately trained, but can he reassure us that he is satisfied that enough staff will be in place for this responsibility? Also, are the staff newly trained or do they have experience of checking for endangered species elsewhere? Is that experience already there or are we talking about new people trying to tackle, as I say, very devious traders?
Can the Minister give an indication of how many cases Defra envisages will arise each year? Is it envisaged that the new customs checks will lead to delays? Given that we are talking about live plants and animals, has any thought been given to the welfare and preservation of these species? What protections will be provided?
Given that these regulations are due to come into effect on 1 January, which is only eight weeks away, what communication is envisaged to ensure that everybody who will be affected understands how the new protocol rules will be applied? Paragraph 11 of the Explanatory Memorandum states:
“Guidance will be provided … to clearly set out the actions businesses and individuals need to take to prepare for the end of the Transition Period”.
Has this guidance been issued, and does it specifically cover the CITES issues that we are considering today?
I will ask a couple of questions about the details of the regulations, following on from some of the questions about enforcement posed by ClientEarth in its written submission to the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and asked by both the noble Lord, Lord Randall, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones. On page 4 of the regulations, and in subsequent references, the phrase
“after considering any opinion by the Scientific Review Group”,
is deleted, and it is stated that there will be a separate UK substitute. Can the Minister confirm that, whatever organisation the UK substitutes for the Scientific Review Group, it will have the same degree of involvement in decisions in the UK as the EU Scientific Review Group has?
On page 11 and elsewhere, the phrase
“a competent scientific authority of the Member State concerned”
is deleted, and the phrase
“the competent scientific authority of the United Kingdom”
is inserted. The change from “a competent” to “the competent” seems to imply that there is only one competent scientific authority in the UK. So can the Minister advise us which scientific body or bodies will provide this advice in future, and who will decide that on a case-by-case basis?
Finally, this is a consolidated SI, bringing together changes in several instruments that we have considered before, rather than amending each previous SI. The reason given is
“to make the legislation clearer and more accessible to all users.”
So far, so good—we support this approach—but can the Minister say when Defra decided to change its approach? Will this policy now be adopted for the future updating of SIs? Why was this approach not adopted earlier in the process, to avoid the consideration of SIs that will now not even be enacted? I look forward to his response.
3.09 pm