Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Fresh Food and Drinks: Duty and Customs

Thursday 25 May 2023 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government assesses the impact of the duty and customs regime on the fresh food and drinks sector through regular reviews of import and export trade statistics.
  • Scotland has experienced a significant decrease in fruit exports following Brexit, with UK fruit exports falling from 248.5 million to 113.8 million.
  • The UK government asserts that new trade deals and increased fishing quotas have benefited the fishing industry since leaving the EU.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Deidre Brock SNP
Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The question arises from concerns about the fresh food and drinks sector after the UK's exit from the EU. The MP is asking for an assessment with Cabinet colleagues on how this regime will affect trade.

Question

What recent assessment have you made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the duty and customs regime following the UK's exit from the EU on the fresh food and drinks sector?

Answer from Therese Coffey

The Government recognise the importance of trade in the food and drink sector. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regularly reviews UK import and export trade statistics, including from the European Union. In April, the Government presented their draft border target operating model for all goods imports into Great Britain. To ensure enough time for proper preparedness, we will implement the model across three milestones between the end of October and 31 October 2024. In the longer term, the UK single trade window will enable all information required to import and export goods to be submitted to border agencies through one interface, further simplifying the process for traders.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The assessment of impact on specific sectors was not provided

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Q2 Kirsten Oswald SNP
Scotland Brexit Business & Trade
Context

Scotland has grown a third of all the UK's soft fruits, but Brexit led to a significant drop in fruit exports. The MP is concerned about the impact on sensitive perishable goods and seeks steps to remove barriers.

Question

In recent years, Scotland has grown a third of all the UK's soft fruits. However, exports have been quashed because of Brexit, with UK fruit exports falling by more than half, from £248.5 million in the year ending March 2021 to £113.8 million in the year ending March 2023. Given that Scottish food perishables travel further to Dover and are more sensitive to delays among the sanitary and phytosanitary arrangements, what steps is the Secretary of State taking to remove the Brexit barriers to trade that her Government have imposed on Scottish businesses?

Answer from Therese Coffey

It is the European Union that has put certain checks in place in its export arrangements. We have had a pretty open door since we left the European Union, which is why we are implementing the target operating model to ensure that we introduce further controls, mindful of the biosecurity risks that we face.

Not addressed: The specific steps taken to remove barriers were not addressed, focusing instead on EU checks and biosecurity risks

How: Deflecting Blame Onto The Eu

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Q3 Deidre Brock SNP
Scotland Brexit
Context

The chief executive officer of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association expressed disappointment over Brexit. Polling data shows a negative sentiment towards the decision to leave the EU.

Question

Mike Park, the chief executive officer of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, told The New York Times that his industry members were the “poster boys” of Brexit, but now admit that Brexit has delivered nothing, saying: 'It has left some very negative legacies and hasn't provided any of the positives we were promised.' Given the latest polling shows that only 9% think that the decision to leave the EU was more of a success than a failure and 62% describe it as more of a flop, and given the damage to Scotland's global fresh food and drinks sector, can the Secretary of State finally agree that the only Brexit growth our economy is experiencing is in managed decline?

Answer from Therese Coffey

What can I say? Rubbish. The quota for British fishermen, including Scottish fishermen, has gone up since we left the European Union. We have signed new trade deals, the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership being the latest. We have announced an extra five agricultural attachés around the world, making 16 in total, who will promote great British food, including fish, around the world.

Not addressed: The negative impact of Brexit was not acknowledged; instead, positive actions were highlighted to deflect criticism.

How: Dismissing Criticism, Highlighting Positives

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