The complete fishing trade could possibly be destroyed if ministers don’t repair customs clearance expertise on the border, George Eustice has been warned.
SNP MP Stuart C McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) advised the Surroundings Secretary that Scottish seafood corporations have been involved they have been “going out of enterprise” with their produce “sitting in lorry parks in Kent ready for customs clearance”.
His feedback got here as different MPs queried whether or not the meat trade was additionally “in jeopardy” after newspapers reported this week that pigs heads have been “rotting in Rotterdam”.
However Mr Eustice assured MPs that whereas there have been “often delays on the border”, on the whole, “items are flowing”.
Talking within the Commons throughout atmosphere departmental questions, Mr McDonald stated: “Scotland’s high-quality seafood producers are warning that they’re going out of enterprise.
“They will’t have their merchandise sitting in lorry parks in Kent ready for customs clearance, these merchandise have to achieve market recent.
“So what’s the Authorities doing to vary the procedures and repair the expertise to make sure a complete trade isn’t destroyed, and can there be ongoing compensation provided to enterprise till that is sorted, or was {that a} one-off?”
Mr Eustice responded: “We’ve introduced a £23 million fund to assist these exporters who struggled with the paperwork in these preliminary weeks.
“We’ve additionally been working every day with the fishing sector to deal with and iron out any explicit points that they’ve encountered.”
He added that the issues have been merely “teething points”.
In the meantime, shadow atmosphere minister Daniel Zeichner advised the Commons: “I worry the Secretary of State resides in a parallel universe.
“He will need to have seen the headlines ‘pig heads rotting in Rotterdam’ as Brexit delays hit the British meat trade,” and requested if the meat trade was “in jeopardy”.
Mr Eustice stated: “He’s unsuitable about that truly. Items are flowing, significantly relating to lamb, which is our principal meat export. Dairy items are additionally flowing.
“Sure, there are often delays on the border as border officers in France and The Netherlands get used to those new processes, however we’re intervening in all such situations to assist the companies involved.”
The Surroundings Secretary additionally advised MPs that an settlement between the UK and Norway over entry to one another’s fishing waters in the course of the subsequent yr may “conclude throughout the subsequent couple of weeks”.
Mr Eustice stated that final week an interim settlement was reached between the 2 nations to permit British fishers to catch a quota of two,750 tonnes of cod in waters round Svalbard, Norway, as much as March 31.
Responding to Labour MP Emma Hardy (Hull West and Hessle), he advised MPs: “We’d anticipate that these negotiations would conclude throughout the subsequent couple of weeks after which entry for Arctic cod, ought to that be agreed within the settlement, could possibly be resumed.”
Very first thing this morning, I requested the Conservative Authorities why hasn’t the fishing quota been agreed upon? The Kirkella is moored up, ready to go to work.
Is the Authorities dragging its toes or is it being incompetent as soon as once more?? pic.twitter.com/Va1oHHBN6v
— Emma Hardy MP (@EmmaHardyMP) January 21, 2021
MPs have been additionally knowledgeable that the UK Authorities was conducting bilateral negotiations with Eire over easing pet journey restrictions between Nice Britain and the island of Eire.
Since January 1, the UK has “half two listed standing” beneath the EU Pet Journey Scheme, which means that folks travelling from Nice Britain with their pets and help canines must observe new necessities with the intention to journey to the EU and Northern Eire.
SDLP MP Claire Hanna (Belfast South) stated the present scenario brought on “challenges” for pet homeowners, significantly in relation to information canines.
Mr Eustice replied: “The first objective of those pet journey rules is to regulate the unfold of rabies and each Eire and Nice Britain have a really comparable and really excessive well being standing on rabies having not had it in canines beforehand.
“We, subsequently, do assume that there must be easements on this explicit provision, we’ve argued with the (European) Fee that we must be listed partially one however we’re persevering with to make these bilateral negotiations with Eire a precedence.”
