Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products Framework (Miscellaneous Amendments, etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Motion to Approve

Moved by

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 13 February be approved.

My Lords, I declare my farming interests as set out in the register.

The matters in these instruments are closely interrelated, and I hope that noble Lords might find it helpful if I speak to them together. These instruments amend retained EU law and domestic legislation on the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products—also known as the Common Market Organisation or CMO —to ensure their smooth transition into a domestic regime. They also amend retained EU law and domestic legislation covering a limited number of miscellaneous rules and functions within the wider common agricultural policy.

The CMO is part of Pillar 1 of the common agricultural policy, alongside direct payments. It comprises a number of schemes and standards designed to support, directly or indirectly, farmers and the prices they receive for their goods.

The technical and operability amendments made in these regulations will maintain the effectiveness and continuity of this legislation, which would otherwise be inoperable following exit. They will ensure that we can continue to operate schemes under these regulations for our vital farming sector and maintain the standards they set, which support confidence in our farmed goods in domestic and international markets.

This legislation makes appropriate corrections to ensure that these standards and processes continue to operate in a UK context. Where changes are required, we have endeavoured to ensure that these will have limited impact on businesses and other stakeholders. We have consulted extensively with the devolved Administrations on these instruments to ensure that the legislation that they amend continues to work, while also respecting the devolution agreements.

For six of the instruments, most of the areas they cover are devolved, with powers transferring to devolved Ministers. In many cases the Secretary of State is able to act on behalf of the devolved Administrations, should they give their consent. However, in some circumstances this does not apply to Wales, due to certain provisions that are specific to the Welsh devolution settlement. The Welsh Government have carefully considered whether the Secretary of State should be able to act on their behalf in respect of each of the functions concerned, and the drafting reflects that. Only one relates exclusively to reserved matters: the draft Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products and Common Agricultural Policy (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

The majority of the instruments under debate concern the common organisation of agricultural markets. The CMO sits in Pillar 1 of the CAP and was set up as a means of meeting the latter’s objectives, in particular by stabilising markets, ensuring a fair standard of living for agricultural producers and increasing agricultural productivity. It has over time broadened to provide a range of measures that enable the EU to manage market volatility, incentivise collaboration between and the competitiveness of agricultural producers and facilitate trade.

The policy areas covered by this framework can largely be broken down into: the aforementioned market intervention measures, such as public intervention and crisis support; sector-specific aid schemes, such as the fruit and vegetables aid scheme; marketing standards, which maintain consumer confidence in our farmed goods; import and export rules, such as quality controls on imported hops; and competition-related measures, such as the creation of producer organisations. Alongside the framework for the CMO, this statutory instrument makes operable the EU regulation that governs the scheme for the promotion of agricultural products. Together, all these schemes and standards work to support our farming sector and the prices that famers receive for their farmed goods.

The second statutory instrument in this grouping, the draft Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products and Common Agricultural Policy (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, ensures the operability of certain provisions in the CMO and wider CAP relating to reserved matters: in particular, the regulation of anti-competitive practices, of international law, of imports and exports and of intellectual property law. The amendments made in these regulations ensure that the relevant retained EU legislation will continue to operate effectively as domestic law. As an example, one amendment made here replaces an appeals procedure for recognition of wine geographical indicators that was run by the Commission with a domestic procedure via the First-tier Tribunal. This statutory instrument also confers existing legislative functions held by the Commission in these reserved policy areas on to the Secretary of State to enable the smooth functioning of related schemes for producers, traders, importers and exporters of agricultural goods.

The third statutory instrument in this grouping, draft Market Measures (Marketing Standards) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, makes operability changes to a range of EU regulations laying down marketing standards and related rules for seven areas: bananas, beef and veal, carcase classification, fruit and vegetables, hops, milk and milk products and spreadable fats, and pigmeat. The instrument aims to minimise disruption to the flow of goods while preserving standards, and to make marketing standards legislation appropriate to the domestic context of the United Kingdom.

The amendments in this instrument aim to maintain confidence in the quality of the farmed goods in our markets, and ensure that product information remains transparent and accurate. For example, rules allowing labels on mixed fruit and vegetables to specify whether they originate within or outwith the EU will be amended to allow labels to specify instead whether the produce originates from the UK. I emphasise that this includes a transition period of 21 months during which the old labels may be used, so long as they comply with all other relevant legislation, including the requirement not to mislead consumers.

I will draw your Lordships’ attention to one minor point which was raised with me earlier today. As a result of changes made by the European Union to EU regulation 543/2011, relating to marketing standards for fresh fruit and vegetables, a small number of provisions in the draft Market Measures (Marketing Standards) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 will require minor amendment. These changes were published in the Official Journal only last week, and are due to come into force before exit day. Our proposal is to make a new statutory instrument to amend the Market Measures (Marketing Standards) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 to reflect the changes we have just heard of, and then make both SIs together. This will ensure that our regulations correctly link to retained EU law as it is on exit day. I want to be absolutely clear, as I heard about it only this afternoon, that this is because of recent changes. I therefore promise that the statute book will have retained EU law as it exists when we leave. I hope that is helpful to your Lordships. We will attend to it.

The fourth statutory instrument in this group, the draft Market Measures Payment Schemes (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, makes appropriate amendments to EU regulations laying down detailed rules for three areas to ensure their continued operability: public intervention and aid for private storage, measures to promote agricultural products and rice processing. The amendments ensure that this legislation can operate effectively. Amendments here include those to remove the role of the Commission in tendering procedures for selling products into intervention storage in the case of, for example, a price collapse in a certain agricultural sector, and ensure that this process continues to work domestically.

The fifth statutory instrument in this grouping, the draft Market Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, makes the appropriate amendments to ensure operability of a range of domestic statutory instruments that provide for enforcement of EU rules on marketing standards—for example, the Marketing of Fresh Horticultural Produce Regulations 2009, which, among other things, empower the Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate to make checks to ensure that fresh produce is labelled and marketed correctly, protecting consumers and ensuring confidence in the fresh produce on our market. The regulations make the appropriate amendments to ensure this domestic SI remains operable, maintaining continuity in our enforcement operations. The other domestic regulations this SI covers concern: beef and veal labelling in England; carcase classification and price reporting in England; quality of green bananas in England and Wales; olive oil marketing standards in the UK; certification of hops in the UK; milk price reporting in England and Northern Ireland; and the school milk scheme in England and Northern Ireland.

The sixth statutory instrument in this grouping, draft Agriculture (Legislative Functions) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019, amends elements of the EU legislation on the CMO and some of the elements of the EU legislation on organic food and feed that provide for legislative functions. Under the amendments, functions currently exercised by the European Commission will instead be exercisable in the UK. This will enable these legislative functions to continue to be used at a national level. It does this also for a small number of functions in the wider CAP that relate to the CMO. Without these amendments, the legislative functions contained in these retained EU regulations would be inoperable. This would prevent the UK Government and the devolved Administrations from being able to make any necessary changes to the relevant policy regimes to keep them up to date. This instrument uses powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to correct these deficiencies to enable the functions to be exercised by UK public authorities.

The seventh statutory instrument in this group, the draft Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, makes appropriate amendments to retained EU law on the identification and movement of cattle, sheep and goats so that it will continue to function correctly.

We have been pragmatic in how we are amending this retained legislation. For example, we will not be requiring animals imported from the EU to be retagged, as is currently required for third-country imports. This is because the EU ear tags and the information on them will be of the same specifications as UK tags and can be used by our tracing systems. This will avoid creating an unnecessary burden on importers.

The instruments in this grouping make changes to ensure an operable legal framework for the CMO, supporting farmers and delivering continuity. They also ensure that retained EU law will function correctly. As I said, the changes are technical, ensuring operability and addressing any deficiencies. These changes will ensure that we can continue to set and enforce standards for farmed goods covered by the CMO and continue to operate the aid schemes set therein. I beg to move.

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for introducing the seven sets of regulations. At this time of night, having sat here from about 3 pm, other Members will be delighted that I will not repeat everything I have written down, because he clearly introduced the regulations in the correct manner.

I am very grateful to Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Sub-Committee A for its 18th report, which looked at the regulations and which it followed up in its 19th report with some extra questions. My noble friend may want to pick up on some of them when he responds. I should declare the family farming interest, in particular the fact that we receive payments, including for environmental matters.

This is a very important group of statutory instruments which cover matters such as aid for private storage, aid schemes, marketing standards—which are particularly important—labelling, packaging, production methods, conservation and storage and transport certification, to name but a few in the first instrument. The Explanatory Memorandum on the third instrument, on marketing measures, states that our retained EU law is being kept as close as we can to the current system. Paragraph 7.2 refers particularly to public intervention and aid for storage, aid schemes generally, marketing standards, producer organisations, import and export rules—which are extremely important—and crisis measures, which my noble friend did not mention but which he might also want to pick up when he responds.

On the fourth SI, on marketing measures payment schemes, managing market volatility is again particularly important. Perhaps my noble friend can say a little more about that when he responds. The collaboration and competitiveness of agricultural producers is hugely important: bringing producers together so that we can gain competitiveness in the international trade in which we shall be competing. Promotion and high standards are particularly important, as are the production methods to which they refer. Awareness and recognition of EU quality schemes is increasingly important, and the statutory instruments allow us to achieve that. My noble friend did not mention—but there is so much for him to mention in these statutory instruments, it is probably just as well for us tonight that he did not go through the whole lot—the safety proposed to farmers by removing surplus products. Again, perhaps he would pick up on that. I shall not comment on the fifth statutory instrument at all.