Dr Neil Hudson MP for Penrith and The Border again questioned Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, on Wednesday about the Government’s progress towards reaching an agreement with the EU on the movement of plant and animal related products across borders.
With Dr Hudson’s extensive professional experience of the veterinary industry, he pointed not just to the boost to British trade but also the public and animal health benefits from bolstered biosecurity that an agreement would bring. He is specifically pushing for a Veterinary and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement between the UK and EU which would facilitate the trade of plant and animal products between GB and Northern Ireland and more widely between the UK and the EU.
This is the second time Dr Hudson has quizzed Mr Lewis on the issue in the Chamber, – adding weight to questioning the Foreign Secretary in the Chamber recently, raising it in his role as a member of the EFRA Select Committee and the ministerial conversations he has had and the letters written to department heads.
Speaking in Parliament, Dr Neil Hudson said:
“Many of the issues related to trade and movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are plant and animal-related. What progress have the Government made in trying to secure an arrangement between the UK and the EU on veterinary and sanitary and phytosanitary matters? That would address these issues and also enhance the UK’s biosecurity.”
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, replied:
“My hon. Friend makes an important point. One frustration with this failure by the EU to see the flexibility that we need is that, by resolving some of these issues, we could have avoided the need for us to legislate and to take this period of time to resolve things.
“Our legislation will resolve all of these issues and create a method that not only protects the EU single market, but, importantly, works for businesses, works for citizens, and works for all three aspects of the Good Friday agreement, dealing with those very issues that he raises."
Speaking afterwards, Dr Neil Hudson, added:
“I believe that many of the difficulties the UK has experienced with the Northern Ireland Protocol could be resolved through a Veterinary and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement between the UK and the EU.
“I believe this would facilitate trade and the movement of plant and animal produce between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and more widely between the UK and the EU. I further believe this would also improve UK biosecurity, an important objective following the clear lesson of the coronavirus pandemic: viruses and infectious agents do not respect international or domestic borders. I have raised this repeatedly in the House, including on the EFRA Select Committee, on which I sit, and will continue to do so until we’ve reached a workable solution for all the people of the British Isles.”
