1-20 of 23 results for subject:Imports
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My Lords, this country imports 73% of the timber we need for construction, despite having one of the best climates in the world for growing softwoods. Natural England and the Forestry Commission have jointly expressed dismay that only 10% of our tree-planting over the last 10 years has been a productive softwood species we need and that our planting targets overall are unambitious. Given the many benefits of establishing new woods, including commercial softwoods, what will the Government do to rectify this disappointing situation? I know what the Minister has said about the action plan, but will she give us a guarantee that they can cut the regulations and red tape that are impeding many planting schemes?
My Lords, this country imports 73% of the timber we need for construction, despite having one of the best climates in the world for growing softwoods. Natural England and the Forestry Commission have jointly expressed dismay that only 10% of our tree-planting over the last 10 years has been a productive softwood species we need and that our planting targets overall are unambitious. Given the many benefits of establishing new woods, including commercial softwoods, what will the Government do to rectify this disappointing situation? I know what the Minister has said about the action plan, but will she give us a guarantee that they can cut the regulations and red tape that are impeding many planting schemes?
The noble Lord is right that we import the vast majority of our timber and wood products, and this makes us the second largest net importer in the world after China. The Government believe that this needs to change. We want to increase the domestic timber market, and we are investing £1 billion in tree-planting and support to the forestry sector over this Parliament. As part of developing the new tree-planting programme, we have been working with our delivery partners and grant schemes to look at how we can increase conifer planting to support domestic softwood timber production.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the use of timber in the construction industry as a low-carbon building material.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the use of timber in the construction industry as a low-carbon building material.
My Lords, the Timber in Construction Roadmap was updated and relaunched in February 2025. It sets out how we can increase the use of timber in construction. We are working in partnership with timber industries, government bodies and stakeholders to address the barriers to greater timber use. Our collaboration focuses on developing best practices, researching innovative timber products and increasing the circularity of timber construction supply chains.
My Lords, the last Government announced on 12 December 2023 that they planned to introduce these regulations. I appreciate that the general election has intervened, but Labour has been in power for over a year now. Can I press the Minister on clarification on what the Government intend to do and when we may see the regulations? Will the Government keep the exemption proposed by the last Government for small companies with a turnover of under £50 million or using under 500 tonnes? Given the challenges in tracking supply chains, can the Minister outline what practical measures will be in place at UK borders to verify compliance and whether this will require additional resources for customs and enforcement agencies?
My Lords, the last Government announced on 12 December 2023 that they planned to introduce these regulations. I appreciate that the general election has intervened, but Labour has been in power for over a year now. Can I press the Minister on clarification on what the Government intend to do and when we may see the regulations? Will the Government keep the exemption proposed by the last Government for small companies with a turnover of under £50 million or using under 500 tonnes? Given the challenges in tracking supply chains, can the Minister outline what practical measures will be in place at UK borders to verify compliance and whether this will require additional resources for customs and enforcement agencies?
The noble Lord asked me quite a few specific questions as to exactly what the legislation is going to look like when the Government bring it forward. I am afraid I am not in
a position to give the detail of what that legislation would look like at the moment, but I can only reiterate that we want to see it coming forward as soon as practically possible. We are looking at a number of different options of how we can do that, because it is important that, when we bring this forward, it is going to work for smallholders, for example, and small businesses, and that it will be effective and genuinely tackle the issue.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of recent deaths in Cambridge caused by an e-bike battery catching fire, what steps they will take to ban the importation of e-bike and e-scooter batteries which do not have the UL2271 battery certification.
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of recent deaths in Cambridge caused by an e-bike battery catching fire, what steps they will take to ban the importation of e-bike and e-scooter batteries which do not have the UL2271 battery certification.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) was notified of this incident by the National Fire Chiefs Council. OPSS are liaising with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and Trading Standards to provide support and to obtain details regarding the product to enable a follow up investigation to take place.
UK law requires that all consumer products must be safe before being placed on the UK market. Where products are identified that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements, OPSS works with local Trading Standards to quickly remove them from the market.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of requiring VI-1 certificates for wine imported from non-EU countries.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of requiring VI-1 certificates for wine imported from non-EU countries.
Wine imports to the EU have been subject to the requirement to provide a VI1 certificate for many years. The basis for their introduction was to provide a level of assurance that the wine being imported met the standards required to be marketed in the EU. Over time the VI1 requirement has been relaxed in some cases to allow simplified forms of the certificate to be used, where for instance the exporting country and the EU have reached trade agreements covering the production of wine.
The Withdrawal Act 2018 retained the requirement for third country wines to be accompanied by a VI1 certificate as a means of maintaining that level of assurance. As VI1 provisions already exist for wine imports from non-EU countries, and these wines remain extremely competitive in our marketplace, we believe the new requirement to be appropriate and affordable.
As I and colleagues in Government have said on many occasions, leaving the EU gives us the ability to look critically at the laws we have inherited from the EU to ensure they remain fit for purpose. We have maintained simplified VI1 arrangements, where these existed, in the new trade deals we have concluded, and we will consider in due course whether there is a case to revisit the requirement for VI1 certification overall.
I give a very warm welcome to my noble friend the Minister on his first appearance at the real Dispatch Box. Recent events have shown the extreme danger of depending on vital supplies from foreign powers, even close allies. Since the Chinese Communist regime is now behaving like a hostile state, threatening Taiwan, commandeering islands in the South China Sea, covering up its Wuhan virus failures and terrorising Hong Kong, will my noble friend now step up work with UK companies to urgently reshore those vital 229 strategic goods and services that we currently get from China?
I give a very warm welcome to my noble friend the Minister on his first appearance at the real Dispatch Box. Recent events have shown the extreme danger of depending on vital supplies from foreign powers, even close allies. Since the Chinese Communist regime is now behaving like a hostile state, threatening Taiwan, commandeering islands in the South China Sea, covering up its Wuhan virus failures and terrorising Hong Kong, will my noble friend now step up work with UK companies to urgently reshore those vital 229 strategic goods and services that we currently get from China?
The noble Lord makes some strong points. My department is considering import dependency and will continue to analyse imports, including from China, to determine whether the UK is particularly reliant on certain of our trading relationships. Project Defend is looking at our trading relationships with a range of international partners. It will analyse critical supply chains for a range of non-food items in addition to medical supplies. We will continue working to keep trade flowing by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers and through our programme of FTAs.
My Lords, coronavirus has highlighted the importance of access to critical goods. Having a diverse and reliable pool of suppliers is clearly in our interest, whether from a security, sustainability or value-for-money perspective. The Henry Jackson Society report makes a useful contribution as we consider resilience in our supply chains. We are supporting businesses to diversify supply chains by opening new markets through free trade agreements, reducing barriers to exports and maintaining a competitive business environment.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they intend to ban the importation of vehicles produced by those German car manufacturers that are being investigated by the German anti-trust authorities for alleged collusion to misrepresent diesel emissions until that investigation has concluded.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they intend to ban the importation of vehicles produced by those German car manufacturers that are being investigated by the German anti-trust authorities for alleged collusion to misrepresent diesel emissions until that investigation has concluded.
This is a matter for the relevant competition authorities and we await their findings. There are no plans to ban the importation of vehicles from the manufacturers that are reportedly under investigation.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of people who may die as a result of contracting Hepatitis E from infected pig meat imported from other EU member states.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of people who may die as a result of contracting Hepatitis E from infected pig meat imported from other EU member states.
Public Health England (PHE) knows of no published data that shows either German or Dutch pig meat contains the hepatitis E virus (HEV). Detecting the presence of HEV in foods to prove causation is technically extremely difficult.
PHE’s role is advisory. The Food Standards Agency is the regulatory body responsible for determining any necessary steps to protect consumers.
It is not possible to estimate the number of people who may die as a result of HEV. PHE is aware of a small number of cases, on average between one and two a year, where coincident HEV infection is included in the death certificate.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many bottles of wine were sampled by the Food Standards Agency from each EU country in each of the last five years.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many bottles of wine were sampled by the Food Standards Agency from each EU country in each of the last five years.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) samples wine on risk basis and based on intelligence received from other Government departments or authorities in member states.
The FSA takes two bottles of a particular wine during sampling exercises. The information of number of bottles sampled from European Union countries is shown in the following table.
| Italy | Germany | United Kingdom | France | Spain |
2012 | 10 | - | - | - | - |
2013 | 16 | - | - | - | - |
2014 | 28 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
2015 | 100 | - | 12 | 2 | 4 |
2016 | 72 | - | 6 | 4 | 4 |
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many imported bottles of wine were sampled in each of the last five years, in order to check for fraud and forgery, broken down by samples from (1) EU member states, and (2) the rest of the world.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many imported bottles of wine were sampled in each of the last five years, in order to check for fraud and forgery, broken down by samples from (1) EU member states, and (2) the rest of the world.
The information requested is not held.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for protecting the Exchequer from alcohol duty fraud. The majority of this fraud in the UK relates to the diversion of genuine products, without payment of duty. HMRC has a published strategy for dealing with alcohol fraud. This is risk-based and sampling does not form part of this approach.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to draw up a new phytosanitary inspection regime for plants imported from the EU after the UK's withdrawal.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to draw up a new phytosanitary inspection regime for plants imported from the EU after the UK's withdrawal.
We recognise that the UK’s exit from the EU may have implications for the way in which current UK plant health services operate, including phytosanitary certification on imports, quarantine measures to mitigate the highest risk pests and diseases, and plant passporting.
We are considering the implications and possible options as part of our planning for, and negotiations on, the UK’s exit.
Continuing to deliver a risk-based, proportionate plant health regime that effectively protects the UK from plant pests and diseases, whilst maximising the free movement of goods, remains of the highest priority.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to list all the UK's tree and plant species under threat from pests and diseases found in plants imported to the UK from the EU.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to list all the UK's tree and plant species under threat from pests and diseases found in plants imported to the UK from the EU.
We are committed to doing all we can to prevent plant pests and diseases reaching our borders and to build the resilience of our trees and plants. Our approach, led by the Government Chief Plant Health Officer, involves the systematic, proactive screening of potential new and emerging risks, which are listed in the Plant Health Risk Register.
There are regulations on importing plants and products from outside the UK where it is known that certain pests or pathogens are present. These are updated regularly, in response to new evidence, such as that published by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation. We are working collaboratively with the EU and broader international community, industry, NGOs, landowners and the public to reduce the risks of pests and diseases entering the country and the impact of newly established pests, including substantial programmes of work on the oak processionary moth and ash dieback.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of campylobacter in imported chickens and chicken meat and how it compares to the level found in their recent study of chickens produced in the United Kingdom.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of campylobacter in imported chickens and chicken meat and how it compares to the level found in their recent study of chickens produced in the United Kingdom.
The Food Standards Agency advises that there are no available comparisons of campylobacter levels between chickens imported into the United Kingdom from outside the European Union and chickens produced in the UK. Chicken imported from outside the EU is not assessed for levels of campylobacter as most chicken imported into the UK is frozen. The European Food Standards Authority has indicated that a greater than 90% risk reduction from campylobacter can be obtained by freezing carcases for two to three weeks.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what restrictions she intends to impose on the sourcing of animals for restocking farms after foot and mouth has been eliminated.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what restrictions she intends to impose on the sourcing of animals for restocking farms after foot and mouth has been eliminated.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the advantages of using sniffer dogs at points of entry to the UK to detect illegal meat imports.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the advantages of using sniffer dogs at points of entry to the UK to detect illegal meat imports.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations have been made to the Government by other countries who have suffered a foot and mouth outbreak.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations have been made to the Government by other countries who have suffered a foot and mouth outbreak.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the countries which have had foot and mouth disease in the last six months from which Britain is importing meat or meat products. - Inc list.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the countries which have had foot and mouth disease in the last six months from which Britain is importing meat or meat products. - Inc list.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the verification procedures used in countries with foot and mouth disease to ensure that meat exported to the United Kingdom from the non-infected part of the country is not contaminated.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the verification procedures used in countries with foot and mouth disease to ensure that meat exported to the United Kingdom from the non-infected part of the country is not contaminated.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to introduce legislation to ban the import of oral tobacco products; when he intends to introduce such legislation; and if he will make a statement.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to introduce legislation to ban the import of oral tobacco products; when he intends to introduce such legislation; and if he will make a statement.