I add my name to other noble Lords who have spoken today and thank the Minister for his explanation of the regulations. I declare my interests as set out in the register, but hasten to add that I have no connections with anything to do with horses. The Minister is correct to make clear that these regulations are being made in the event of a no deal outcome to the UK leaving the EU and it would be redundant should the UK leave with a deal. I thank the Minister once again for facilitating discussions earlier in the week on the SI.
While EU law is supported by UK domestic enforcement legislation after exit day with a deal, as EU legislation will then be retained under the withdrawal Act, the UK must still have an effective, operable statute book should the UK leave the EU without an
agreement, as the Minister has explained. Labour recognises that the regulations largely make no changes to the current policy or enforcement, although there are one or two points I shall come to, and therefore does not oppose them. That is not to say that there are no significant concerns about the considerable impact that a no deal outcome will have on the equine industry as well as nearly every other industry. For this reason, the sifting committee of your Lordships’ House has recommended that the regulations be made under the affirmative procedure.
EU law requires equines to be identified by way of a passport. In most cases, equines born after 2009 must also be uniquely identifiable with a microchip. It is recognised and emphasised that this passport will contain important identity information and pertinent details of veterinary medicines administered to the animal and will define the animal’s current food chain status eligibility. The identification regulations have also been recently updated. The UK’s database was launched on 8 March 2018 and contains data about virtually every equine in the UK except those registered and listed as belonging to semi-wild and wild populations. It is to these populations that my attention has been drawn by World Horse Welfare and I thank that organisation for raising these issues. In his opening remarks, the Minister explained that the technicalities under the legislation withdrawing the UK from the EU might explain some of the anomalies the charity has raised. I thank him for that and I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, who underlined this point. Some of the points that I am about to raise might be redundant, although, as World Horse Welfare has specifically asked these questions and I have given the Minister notice of them, perhaps I may outline them so that he can deal with them appropriately.
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The first concerns the amendment to article 12. Regulation 15(c) on page 5 omits paragraph 2. World Horse Welfare does not agree that that paragraph should be omitted. According to the organisation’s understanding, to do so would be to make a change to current practice in an already complex system where member states may decide to limit the maximum permitted period for identifying the animal to six months or to the calendar year of birth. England and the devolved Administrations are already using slightly different language in their implementing regulations and it is unclear whether they are using this derogation. Am I correct that removal of this derogation, if not covered under domestic legislation, would add to the confusion regarding the relevant deadline to get an ID document for a horse and cause further confusion for the 70-odd passport issuing organisations across the UK—already a confusing enough situation? Does the Minister agree that the industry might be encouraged to undertake a rationalisation of the number of passport issuing organisations, especially if that were to result in cost savings?
World Horse Welfare also raises a concern about the omission of article 13 in Regulation 16 on page 6 regarding wild and semi-wild horses. In England there are horses living under wild or semi-wild conditions; namely, on Dartmoor, Exmoor, Wicken Fen and the
New Forest, and on some commons in Wales. It is impractical and indeed a risk to their welfare to require them to be passported unless being moved, sold or brought into domestic use. Once again, I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify the situation regarding this article, as it has been used to great effect for many years.
Returning to more general matters regarding the no deal scenario and how its worst features can be mitigated, what discussions have the Government had with the EU and the European Commission about allowing the UK to become a listed third country on the day the UK leaves the EU? Once again, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, who raised this issue.
As with other farm animals, these passports are mostly necessary in relation to non-pedigree, unregistered equines. Have the Government undertaken any discussions within the EU to recognise UK stud books and pedigree records? The Minister made reference to stud books in his opening remarks. Will it be possible to assimilate all farm animals under a scheme drawn up by the APHA with a simple, single-page document that will meet the requirements of the legislation and which can be downloaded and signed off by the relevant vet at the same time as other travel documents and health certificates?
Although the Explanatory Memorandum makes it clear that additional costs will not result from the regulations, the Minister will be aware that your Lordships’ sifting committee specifically raised the cost of blood tests for equines moving into or through the EU following UK withdrawal and recommended that the regulations be upgraded in this respect. I understand that the number of tests and procedures varies depending on the risk-assessed disease risk category assigned to the third country. What discussions have the UK Government had with the EU regarding the UK’s disease risk status as a listed third party? How many tests would this involve and what would be the likely additional costs for those moving horses from this country to the rest of the EU, given that blood testing is a mandatory requirement for all equines from third countries?
Lastly—or nearly lastly—there also remain concerns about the welfare implications of long queues at the borders, should they happen in the event of no deal. Clearly, hours spent in a queuing lorry in high temperatures pose significant welfare problems for live animals. Can the Minister outline whether any contingency planning has been undertaken regarding live animals, including equines, in the event of a backlog of lorries at the border? Would it be possible for priority to be given to live animals in any queue? EU veterinarians have to sign off on various responsibilities during movement, which means that some of the checks will occur outside the UK. After Brexit, most of these responsibilities will fall to UK vets, which may increase the work required and the associated costs, assuming movements continue to occur at the current rate. I am grateful to the Minister for his follow-up letter regarding the recognition of standards in veterinary surgeons following the SI that we discussed last week.
Finally, I understand that the recent Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 will become subject to review by no later than October 2023.
This is some considerable time ahead, and no doubt is the normal due process procedure in normal times. Would the Minister consider whether this process should be reviewed and reconsidered, given the various regimes, should no deal indeed turn out to be what happens?