Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Food Production Standards

Thursday 10 September 2020 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 4 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial responses confirmed existing EU law prohibitions on the sale of poultry washed with chlorine and beef treated with hormones remain in place.
  • The Trade and Agriculture Commission's footing was not directly addressed, with the focus on the role of the Board of Trade in championing British exports overseas.
  • The Secretary of State stated that securing standards on food imports includes prohibitions on sale and sanitary and phytosanitary chapters in trade deals.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Seema Malhotra Labour (Co-op) Orpington
Brexit Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The Secretary of State's party promised not to compromise on food standards in trade deals, but the Government have refused to support Labour amendments putting this into law.

Question

If over 70% of people do not want us selling food imported from countries with lower food standards and more than 1 million people have signed a National Farmers Union petition for British food standards to be put into law, why are the Government refusing to comply?

Answer from George Eustice (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In retained EU law, we have indeed put in place the existing prohibitions on the sale of, for instance, poultry washed with chlorine and beef treated with hormones. We have legal prohibitions and our own legal bans on certain practices. Those remain in place and will not change.

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Q2 Luke Pollard Labour (Co-op) Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The Board of Trade includes Tony Abbott who is negotiating agricultural trade deals with Australia potentially risking British farmers' livelihoods.

Question

Will the Secretary of State support an amendment in the House of Lords to put the Trade and Agriculture Commission on firmer footing?

Answer from George Eustice (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Tony Abbott is one of a number of people on the Board of Trade. Their role is to champion British exports overseas. They do not decide Government policy or the Government's negotiating mandate; those negotiations are led by the Secretary of State for International Trade. We have set up a food and agriculture and trade standards commission that has been done and it is already meeting. It does not need to be placed on a statutory footing.

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Q3 Deidre Brock SNP Edinburgh North and Leith
Brexit Business & Trade Environment
Context

Nancy Pelosi has said there will be no trade deal with the US if the UK reneges on treaties signed up to, while the Government have dumped food standards from the Agriculture Bill.

Question

What options is the Secretary of State looking at to restore protections for imports and will guarantees on food standards be written into law?

Answer from George Eustice (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There are a number of ways in which we secure standards on food imports. One is through the prohibitions on sale, as I have already mentioned, which include things such as poultry washed with chlorine or hormones in beef. There is the sanitary and phytosanitary chapter that exists in every trade deal that sets out our requirements for food safety and food standards of food coming in. Finally, of course, we use tariff policy to take account of certain practices in other countries.

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Q4 Patricia Gibson SNP North East Fife
Brexit Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The Government have dumped food standards from the Agriculture Bill, leading to concerns about liability and potential compensation.

Question

Has advice been sought or given regarding liability of the UK Government for damages arising from failure to uphold current standards?

Answer from George Eustice (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There will be no need for compensation as this Government will protect and uphold our food standards.

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