The powers in question are
intended to protect UK farmers and consumers by barring imports under future
trade deals which are produced to standards not permitted in the UK.
Political allegiances were put
aside as a number of Conservative peers backed the Labour peer Lord
Grantchester’s amendment ensuring agricultural and food imports must meet the equivalent
benchmarks for British producers, including on animal welfare, environmental
protection and food safety. The amendment passed by 282 votes to 244.
In support of his amendment,
Lord Grantchester insisted the protections were required in the Bill so that
they were enshrined in primary legislation and so couldn’t be changed through
any subsequent statutory orders.
In addition to reinstating the
above powers into the Bill, a further amendment by Independent peer Lord Curry
also passed by 278 votes to 200. This amendment would give the Trade and
Agriculture Commission more powers to scrutinise post-Brexit trade deals as
well as requiring the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the impact
of proposed future trade deals on maintaining food safety, environmental and
animal welfare standards.
Lord Curry’s amendment
highlighted what he saw as the public’s fear of cheap imported food undermining
UK production standards, a
view supported the NFU President Minette Batters. Following the vote, Mrs
Batters said, “The House of Lords has once again shown its support for British
farming by passing amendments to the Agriculture Bill which include proper
safeguards against food imports that would undermine our high standards,
demonstrating the strength of feeling and support on this issue.”
One organisation which has
highlighted the detrimental effect of failing to protect food standards is the
National Pig Association. Their Chief Executive Zoe Davies warned, “Following
the UK sow stall ban in 1999, retailers continued to import large volumes of
cheaper pork from the EU produced using sow stalls. The impact was catastrophic
as UK producers were unable to compete and went out of business; the pig herd
halved in size in just a few years. The Government must learn from previous
experience and do more to ensure that history is not repeated.”
Government ministers continue
to insist that existing legislation is sufficient to protect against lower
standard imports and Parliament that already has sufficient scrutiny powers. Farming
Minister Victoria Prentis has urged MPs, farmers, campaign groups and the
general public to trust the Government on the issue. She was supported by DEFRA
Minister Lord Gardiner who underlined the Government’s determination to have a “robust
and positive relationship with the people who are custodians and stewards of
the land”.
The Bill will now return to
the House of Commons once again with the Government under renewed pressure to
accept the amendments.
