At its meeting on 15 March 2023, the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (the Committee) considered the Alcoholic Beverages, Fruit and Vegetables (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023.

The policy note states the regulations will amend rules concerning the labelling of alcohol content and vine varieties on wines, and provide flexibility on how the terms “alc” and “vol” can be shown in relation to the numerical alcohol content for all alcoholic drinks.

The instrument also amends Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 to correct what the policy note describes as minor errors contained in regulation 5(5) of the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Act 2020 (Consequential Modifications) and Agricultural Products, Aquatic Animal Health and Genetically Modified Organisms (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

The SSI was laid on 27 January 2023 and will come into force on 23 April 2023.

The UK signed a free trade agreement with New Zealand on 28 February 2022. Before coming into force, both the UK and New Zealand are required to complete their respective domestic procedures for the agreement to come into effect. Once approved by both parliaments, businesses will be able to trade under its terms. In order for the UK to meet the obligations set down in the Agreement, changes need to be made to retained EU Regulations affecting wine and spirits.

These changes, as stated in the policy note, were requested by New Zealand to take account of its current labelling practices, making it easier for New Zealand wines to be imported into Great Britain.

A consultation on the proposed changes to Regulations affecting wine and spirits ran for three weeks between 2 November and 23 November 2022, receiving ten responses. According to the policy note, the majority of responses were supportive of the changes.

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the instrument at its meeting on 7 February and determined that it did not need to draw the attention of the Parliament to the instrument on any grounds within its remit.

At its meeting on 15 March 2023, the Committee held an evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, accompanied by Scottish Government officials.

During the evidence session, the Committee asked why the New Zealand trade agreement included amendments to the rules on wine labelling, and whether similar arrangements were made for other wine-producing nations such as Australia. The Cabinet Secretary responded that the amendments were requested by the New Zealand Government to support smaller producers, who would benefit from greater flexibility in wine labelling when exporting to the UK market in the future. Scottish Government officials indicated that the wine labelling provisions were similar to those contained in the UK-Australia trade agreement which were themselves based on those forming part of the EU-Australia trade deal that was adopted following the UK's exit from the EU.

After the evidence session, the Cabinet Secretary moved motion - S6M-07704

That the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee recommends that the Alcoholic Beverages, Fruit and Vegetables (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 [draft] be approved.

The motion was agreed to without division.

The official report of the meeting can be accessed on the Scottish Parliament's website.