It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.

As part of preparations for a potential No Deal Brexit in March, the Government procured additional freight capacity to support the continued flow of Category 1 goods. When Article 50 was extended, £51.4m was paid to terminate contracts.

The Government ran a new procurement exercise to secure freight capacity as part of preparations for Brexit on 31 October, entering into contracts for the 6 months from this date. With the extension to Article 50, we have changed our requirements with operators to make sure that capacity remains available from 31 January if required. This scaling down of capacity will cost approximately £8m.

On 27 June, the UK Government set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from across the UK economy by 2050. This made the UK the first major economy to set a net zero target in law, ending the UK’s contribution to global warming in three decades.

The Government seeks to support more sustainable patterns of consumption and production by moving towards a more circular economy. This will help reduce carbon emissions related to consumption of imported goods as well as those produced domestically. Our Resources & Waste Strategy (RWS), published in December 2018, sets out how we will do this. We will also publish an indicator framework for the RWS later this year, which will include an indicator on consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions for England.

On 15 October, the Government introduced the landmark Environment Bill to Parliament to tackle the biggest environmental priorities of our time. The Bill builds on this Government’s commitments to protect the environment set out in our 25 Year Environment Plan. Legislation to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and hosting the climate-focused COP26 in 2020 will keep the UK at the forefront of international work on these issues.

To ensure environmental protection the Environment Bill will establish a new Office for Environment Protection, which will have a statutory duty to monitor progress in improving the natural environment, including on climate change.

Hunting trophies are generally imported directly from the source country. However, there are occasions when hunting trophies are exported via another country. An example would be when specialist taxidermy services may not be available in the source country where the trophy was hunted.

Imports from countries which are not the source country of the hunting trophy remain subject to the same requirements to secure a permit under the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, which are directly applicable in the UK and will become Retained EU Law in the UK after we leave the EU. All applications for permits to import hunting trophies into the UK are assessed to make sure that the import would not have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species or on the extent of the territory occupied by the relevant population of the species. Import suspensions are in place for countries where hunting of certain species is considered unsustainable.

Since July 2016, the Department for Exiting the European Union has organised over 850 recorded engagements with business and civil society stakeholders from every sector and major region of the UK economy. DExEU Ministers have attended over 120 roundtable meetings on preparedness and a wide range of other EU exit topics, and have met national business and sectoral organisations that represent the key industries of the North West’s economy.

Ministers continue to conduct an extensive programme of visits across the UK to engage with business and civil society stakeholders on EU exit. Ministers have visited Chambers of Commerce across the North West, and organisations with supply chains closely connected to the European Union.

The Government has made clear that the production of foie gras from ducks or geese using force feeding (known as gavage) raises serious welfare concerns. The production of foie gras by force feeding is banned in the UK as it is incompatible with our domestic legislation. We recognise the strength of feeling on this issue and once we leave the EU, it will be possible for the Government to review the approach to such imports and sales in the UK.

The Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) was ready for use in advance of the last withdrawal date of 12 April. Since then, work on IPAFFS has continued to further develop and stabilise the system, improving the user experience and increasing functionalities for imports from countries outside the EU.

IPAFFS is currently available for businesses to register and begin familiarising themselves with the system. Businesses importing goods from outside the EU are able to use the system from Day 1. IPAFFS replicates the same functionality as the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) currently used by importers to notify authorities about imports of animal products, high-risk food and feed from non-EU countries.

For an interim period, businesses importing goods from the EU will follow a separate process whilst this functionality is built into IPAFFS.

As part of our programme’s nationwide business readiness activities we have been engaging with businesses, stakeholders and users of IPAFFS (including Port Health Authorities) to ensure they can familiarise themselves with the system ahead of 31 October.

The current IPAFFS contingency process is mostly unchanged from the one proposed for the previous departure date in March and follows a similar process to that used by TRACES if it were to stop working today. The National Clearance Hub has accepted the contingency as workable.

The process for importing feed and food from the EU to the UK will not change after Brexit. There will be no additional controls or checks. Full guidance has been published on Gov.uk and this includes new arrangements for the notification only of certain imports.

Options for a new, long term imports regime for animals and animal products are under consideration. The sanitary and phytosanitary conditions for trade between the UK and the EU will also be a matter for negotiation as part of our Future Relationship with the EU.

The Department has made no such assessment. The United Kingdom’s Government policy is that there is no VAT on drugs prescribed by a qualified professional. HM Treasury keeps all taxes under review but there are no plans to extend the zero rate to other products at this time. Our priority is to ensure that patients have access to medicines which are certified as safe and effective, and which are affordable for the National Health Service. We welcome the announcement of Orkambi.

The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation on this subject.

Last month we announced that we will be consulting on whether to further restrict the import and export of hunting trophies. We are acting quickly to respond to the public’s concerns and the consultation will be published in due course.

The UK Government is committed to supporting deforestation-free supply chains as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.

To address the footprint of products linked to deforestation, such as soya and beef, we have established the Global Resource Initiative (GRI). Led by a taskforce comprising of senior representatives from the private sector and civil society, the GRI will produce a set of recommendations in early 2020 to address the impact of the UK’s commodity supply chains. These recommendations may relate to regulatory and policy measures, transparency, financial incentives, trade, sustainable procurement and/or the role of the consumer. To address issues in relation to soya specifically, we have established the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya which has recently led to 83% of the UK retail market publishing concrete sourcing policies to deliver sustainable soya to the UK market.

The Government works in partnership with countries in the Amazon to tackle deforestation and has invested nearly £120 million through the UK’s International Climate Finance on projects to support sustainable agriculture, prevent forest fires and implement the Forest Code in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Following the Amazon fires the UK has pledged a further £10 million to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permit system allows trade in hunting trophies of listed species, from any country party to CITES, only when it is satisfied that the export will not be harmful to the survival of the species. Import suspensions are in place for countries where hunting of certain species is considered unsustainable.

Last month we announced that we will be consulting on whether to further restrict the import and export of hunting trophies. We are acting to respond to the public’s concerns and the consultation will be published in due course.