Health and Sport Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Official Report 471KB pdf

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Food and Feed Safety and Hygiene (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Our next agenda item is consideration of the Food and Feed Safety and Hygiene (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, which relate to an EU Exit provision.

The notification proposes that the Scottish Government give consent to the UK Government legislating using the powers under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 in relation to the instrument. I invite comments from members on the regulations.

A lot of food safety issues have been raised recently in various forms in the different bills that are in progress right now—the Agriculture Bill, the Trade Bill and the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill. I am curious about whether the legislation that Westminster is taking forward will directly impact on those EU withdrawal regulations.

I think that the short answer is that some of the provisions will have wider significance. Let me come back to you on that in a moment.

Like Emma Harper, I have looked closely at the EU regulations on food standards. I have read our paper on Food Standards Scotland’s responses and I have a simple question to get some clarification.

If we pass the instrument and agree with the Scottish Government that this method be adopted, does that mean that there will be absolutely no genetically modified food in Scotland?

The short answer is that this makes no difference to the Scottish Government’s devolved power to make judgments of the type that it can currently make. It would be the same for the provisions that apply to Food Standards Scotland.

Emma Harper and Sandra White have asked important questions that we should put directly to the Scottish Government. We can conclude consideration of the instrument next week, if members agree to that.

The paper suggests that, when we give consent to the Scottish Government’s proposal, we might place some conditions on that and that we might ask further questions. We can raise those specific points this week and come back to formal consideration next week if colleagues are content.

Thank you.