Mark Spencer: Country of origin information is required for fresh and frozen meat derived from beef cattle, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry, as well as uncut fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, wine and some fish products. It is also required for all prepacked food where its omission would be misleading to consumers. In any case, where an indication of origin or provenance is given, either in words...
Will Quince: My hon. Friend is right to raise that point on behalf of the small wine supplier he represents in York. Of course, this change will have a massive impact. When Majestic originally brought this matter to my attention, it did so not just on its own behalf, but on behalf of the thousands of wine organisations and companies across the country, ranging from one-person bands through to small and...
Steven Bonnar: ...is timely, as we finally saw the UK Government responding to decade-long calls for fairer contracts for dairy farmers. Since as long ago as 2011, NFU Scotland has been desperately pushing on behalf of its members for reform in that area, so we welcome legislation to regulate dairy contracts, but we join NFU Scotland and other unions in highlighting the devastating delay shown by the...
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, on securing this important and timely debate. The noble Baroness has done so much to champion the cause of Windrush and to celebrate the contribution of this valued community to British society. The personal journey of the noble Baroness is faithfully documented in her autobiography, What Are You Doing Here?—a very good read. My...
Lord Douglas-Miller: The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food. Prepacked food has to show: (1) a list of ingredients; (2) the net quantity of the food; (3)...
David Evennett: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving us that information from Northern Ireland. Of course, this is something that we need to work on across all four of our countries that make up the United Kingdom. I am sure that co-operation is the best way forward. Behind these statistics are real people—our people, not just statistics: parents, grandparents, children, friends and neighbours....
Lord Douglas-Miller: All food sold in the UK must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a specific way. These rules require that a food label on pre-packed foods must show: the name of the food; a list of ingredients; the net quantity of the food and the quantity of certain ingredients used; ingredients causing allergies or intolerances; a best...
Mark Spencer: As the Secretary of State discussed in his speech at the Oxford Farming conference, we think there is an opportunity to improve transparency for consumers and ensure fairness for producers, so consumers can be fully confident about what they’re buying. We therefore intend to launch a rapid consultation on clearer labelling. The consultation will explore options for improving method of...
Liam Byrne: ...an interest, because nearly 10 years ago I wrote a book called “Turning to Face the East: How Britain can prosper in the Asian century”, which was an encouragement for exactly this kind of initiative. I am a supporter of CPTPP and I am grateful to the Secretary of State, who is no longer in her place, for joining us at the Business and Trade Committee last week, along with others, to...
Lord Browne of Ladyton: My Lords, it is a privilege and an honour to follow the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot, particularly on the Second Reading of a Bill which, whether he likes it or not, is already referred to as the Arbuthnot Bill, and if I have anything to do with it, will continue to be. On 7 September last year, the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Houghton of Richmond, began his contribution to an Armed Forces...
Lord Johnson of Lainston: ...Lord, Lord McNicol, and the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott—and I had conversations with the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, as well earlier this week. It is very important for noble Lords on all sides of the House to know about the work that I have personally been putting in to ensure that we have the right and appropriate border checks and security, and that the agreements allow us to ensure...
Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help protect farmers from competition from countries with lower animal welfare standards; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that food labelling accurately reflects the origin of produce.
Kevin Hollinrake: Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin. The Government does not have plans to introduce such a requirement on behalf of consumers. Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of...
Baroness Fox of Buckley: My Lords, I too welcome the aspiration of the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, to use the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to rejuvenate and promote its principles. However, this task faces some contemporary challenges. One of the main legacies of the declaration is that human rights discourse is now so ubiquitous that it is possibly losing any meaning. In one recent...
Viscount Colville of Culross: My Lords, I declare an interest as a television producer. I too welcome this Bill, which has been a long time coming. Five and a half years ago, I had the honour to be a member of the Communications and Digital Committee inquiry into digital advertising in the UK. We heard how the two big tech companies, Facebook and Google, used the combination of their massive databases and near-total...
Lord Clement-Jones: My Lords, this is clearly box-office this evening. As soon as I saw the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee’s report and its comments, I thought these regulations were a prime candidate for a regret Motion. This does not mean that the Minister has to be quite as persuasive as he would be if they were subject to the affirmative process, but it does mean that he has to recognise they we...
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: My Lords, it is a pleasure to close the debate on the fourth day of our debates on the humble Address to His Majesty, particularly as it falls on His Majesty’s 75th birthday. I will not risk the confusion of the clerks and the ire of my noble friends the Lord Privy Seal and the Chief Whip, particularly in the midst of a reshuffle, by suggesting amendments to our humble Address but I am sure...
the Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition as set out in the register. That means that I want to reflect for a few moments on the environmental and rural dimensions of some of the legislation that will be coming our way over the coming year. I will make a couple of preliminary comments. Back in 2015, His Majesty’s Government responded to the independent...
Mark Spencer: Country of Origin labelling is compulsory for prepacked unprocessed beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat. For beef an indication of where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered is required while for the other meats, reared and slaughtered is required. The word ‘origin’, where used on unprocessed fresh or frozen meat, means it is from an animal that was born, reared...
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: My Lords, this has indeed been an excellent debate. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, that it has been an uplifting way to end what has been a long and busy week in your Lordships’ House. Like everyone who has spoken, I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Stowell of Beeston for tabling this debate and for how she opened it and outlined the work of your...