I am grateful to noble Lords for their interest in these instruments and their contributions. As ever, I will try to respond to all the points raised.
My noble friend Lady McIntosh raised some important points. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is part of the Government’s commitment to taking the necessary steps to put the UK statute book on a
sustainable footing, following the exit from the EU. While the department assesses its retained EU law and plans for the REUL Bill accordingly, these statutory instruments ensure that the current legislation is operable. This is the last opportunity to make these technical fixes before the powers from the European Union (Withdrawal) Act to make these modifications expire at the end of this year.
My noble friend and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, raised important points about designated competent authorities. The official controls regulation provides that the competent authority will be the appropriate authority—the relevant Minister in Great Britain—or any other authority to which such functions are conferred. The designations of competent authorities are set out across various pieces of secondary legislation or dealt with administratively, and vary across the different areas within the official controls regime. Amendments to Articles 3 and 4 of the official controls regulation do not alter any existing designations, but make the process for designating a competent authority clearer and ensure that the appropriate Ministers do not need to designate themselves as competent authorities.
My noble friend raised some very important points about live trade, which I will come to. The Food Standards Agency is an increasingly important body since we left the EU. She is right that it is now directly responsible for food safety and for working with local authorities to make sure that they have the necessary skills, understand the changing legal environment and are able to carry out their functions effectively to keep us all safe.
My noble friend is right to talk about meat imports. We have recently changed the rules to allow a much smaller amount of permissible material to be moved in an attempt to tackle the threat of African swine fever—a serious risk rampaging across Europe, which we are working really hard to prevent ever coming to these shores. We have exercised thoroughly with Defra and its agencies to work out how we would deal with an outbreak, but it is one we want to prevent happening in the first place.
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My noble friend is also right to mention the horsemeat saga. I was in Defra at the time. Government, its agencies, retailers, business and a whole variety of other organisations learned a lot from that. Technology is our friend here. DNA sequencing has allowed us to detect when fraud is happening in our food system.
In response to the questions on the first instrument asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, robust enforcement mechanisms are in place to ensure that the plant health regulation is fully complied with. These consist of offences and criminal penalties as detailed in the Plant Health etc. (Fees) (England) Regulations 2018, and equivalents in the devolved Administrations. The amendments in this new instrument ensure that these existing offences can be amended and new offences created to ensure that enforcement options remain complete and up to date for the plant health regulation.
In reference to the noble Baroness’s question about “Annex II”, the reference in paragraph 7.13 of the Explanatory Memorandum is to Annex II to
Regulation 1/2005, on the protection of animals during transport. Annex II sets out the requirements for journey logs needed to transport live animals.
On designated competent authorities, as I have explained, the official controls regulation provides that the competent authority will be the appropriate authority—in most cases the Minister in the relevant country. The designations of competent authorities are set out across various pieces of secondary legislation or dealt with administratively and vary across different areas within the official controls regime.
The amendments to Articles 3 and 4 of the official controls regulation do not alter any existing designations but—noble Lords will be glad to know—make the process for designating a competent authority clearer and ensure that the appropriate Ministers do not need to designate themselves.
A number of noble Lords raised penalties relating to non-compliance. Article 139 of the official controls regulation, as retained, places a duty on the appropriate authority to ensure that rules on penalties relating to infringements of the official controls are in place. However, no corresponding power was retained to create new penalties or amend existing penalties set out in existing legislation. Therefore, this amendment is necessary to ensure that we have sufficient penalties in place connected to the official controls regulation and delegated legislation. It is an important enforcement measure.
In answer to questions about the Welsh statutory instrument, my information is that, yes, it is compatible with ours. We are working closely with devolved Governments to make sure that there is a seamless regime across Great Britain. If there is any difference, we will certainly let noble Lords know, but my information is that it is entirely compliant.
The answer to the point from the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, about ivory is also yes. Ivory is an animal product. This instrument provides only for animal and public health requirements and does not affect other policy areas such as those dealing with endangered species. The Ivory Act 2018 bans the trade in ivory, not only within the UK but to and from the UK. This instrument provides rules for imports into GB only; it does not cover exports of live animals but, as noble Lords will know, that is now a very small number and likely to be extinguished altogether. However, we have to have rules for the import and export of animals—for example, breeding stock, athletic animals such as racehorses and other types of animal. The provisions for movements between EU member states have been omitted. Exports to the EU are excluded from the scope of this instrument.
Live animals can come to Great Britain via Guernsey or Jersey as long as it is in compliance with the conditions on the import health certificate. References to Great Britain in the certificate published on the government website include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
The noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, raised an entirely justifiable point. The longer I am in this role, the more respect that I have for those who draw up our statutory instruments and try to create a regulatory regime that is fit for purpose and able to be used by stakeholders
effectively. It is incredibly complex. I accept that sometimes we get it wrong. I therefore hope I am open with noble Lords when that happens. It has been the department’s intention to correct errors when they are identified and to ensure that we have a fully operable sanitary and phytosanitary regime.
The noble Baroness’s question related to additional powers beyond those directly equivalent to the tertiary legislation-making powers that the commission has under the relevant EU marketing directives. The proposed amendment provides for an extension of existing powers to create a new category of material, of vegetative plants for planting. The widening of Section 29(1) of the Plant Varieties and Seeds Act 1964 to cover that new material confers new powers, most of which replace specific powers that previously existed under EU directives. If she needs more information on that, I am happy to write to her.
I think I have covered the points raised. I hope noble Lords will share my conviction of the need for these instruments. I am grateful for their supportive remarks. As I have outlined, these instruments are vital technical fixes and operability amendments. Parliamentarians in this House and the other place will, of course, continue to be able to hold me, other Defra Ministers and the department to account through all the usual means, for the ways in which the powers in this instrument are exercised. I commend the regulations to the Committee.