My Lords, I beg to move that the draft Windsor Framework (Enforcement etc.) Regulations 2023, which were laid before the House on 4 September, be considered.
The purpose of the instrument before the Committee is to implement arrangements agreed under the Windsor Framework, which was announced by this Government in February this year. This framework fundamentally recasts the old Northern Ireland protocol to restore the smooth flow of trade within the UK internal market, safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the union and address any concerns over a democratic deficit. Importantly, this instrument does not establish those arrangements themselves but provides Northern Irish authorities with the powers to ensure their proper functioning. This guarantees protection for Northern Irish consumers in line with that in the rest of the United Kingdom.
First, the Northern Ireland retail movement scheme establishes a new sustainable, long-term legal framework for trade in retail agri-food goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The new scheme will allow traders moving agri-food goods destined for the final consumer in Northern Ireland to benefit from a unique set of arrangements. These arrangements enable consignments to move based on a single certificate without routine physical checks. This will be on Great
British public health, marketing and organics standards, as well as catch documentation requirements for certain species of fish.
In total, the Windsor Framework secures the disapplication of more than 60 EU regulations on goods moving to Northern Ireland via the scheme. The application of GB standards to these goods ensures a common approach across the UK. The scheme will be available to all such traders, including retailers, wholesalers, caterers and those providing food to public institutions such as schools and hospitals.
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Secondly, the Northern Ireland plant health label regime will remove the requirement for plants for planting and used farming or forestry machinery to be accompanied by expensive phytosanitary certificates, costing businesses around £150 per movement. Instead, operators will be able to register and become authorised to issue and attach a Northern Ireland plant health label for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. This will significantly reduce the costs for businesses moving these goods to Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland plant health label is based on the existing UK plant passport regime, which controls plant health in the rest of the UK, ensuring freedom from pests. Previously banned seed potatoes will once again be available in Northern Ireland from other parts of the UK and will also move under the Northern Ireland plant health label scheme. Specifically, this instrument will allow for the sufficient, pragmatic and proportionate enforcement of key elements within these new schemes.
First, as agri-foods entering Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland retail movement scheme can now meet the same public health, marketing and organic standards that apply elsewhere in the UK, relevant bodies in Northern Ireland need the powers to ensure compliance with these standards. This instrument ensures that existing Northern Ireland powers can be used in respect of goods that move under the scheme, including the ability to remove non-compliant goods from sale and to act against non-compliant businesses. Such powers are already in place in Northern Ireland in respect of EU standards; as such, this does not represent a widening of enforcement powers or additional responsibility for businesses. Importantly, this will ensure the continued protection of public health, consumer interests and food safety in Northern Ireland, guaranteeing that consumers in Northern Ireland will benefit from the same high standards as the rest of the United Kingdom.
This instrument provides the necessary enforcement powers to ensure compliance with the Northern Ireland plant health label regime, in line with what already exists in the rest of the UK. It affects only businesses that make use of this regime and is no more burdensome than it is for British businesses operating within the plant passport regime. This will ensure that authorities in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are able to manage non-compliance with the Northern Ireland plant health label proportionately, utilising the existing domestic plant health enforcement regime. These measures are intended not to burden lawful traders but rather to
create an equitable ground for businesses and protect the interests of consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As noble Lords would expect, these measures will have no impact on traders who abide by the relevant Great British standards for agri-food goods and the terms and conditions of the Northern Ireland plant health label scheme.
As we move forward with the Windsor Framework, let us not forget its profound implications for trade and the economy. This framework is an innovative solution. It removes the Irish Sea border for goods remaining in the UK and provides a stable legal foundation for trade, allowing everyday goods to move more easily, while adhering to the highest standards and protecting biosecurity on the island of Ireland. These new arrangements ensure that consumers in Northern Ireland can access goods that are available across other parts of the UK and that they are protected by the same high standards as consumers elsewhere in the UK.
I hope I have reassured your Lordships of the purposes and aims of this statutory instrument as a critical part of the Windsor Framework. I hope noble Lords agree that this is a positive step forward for businesses and consumers. I beg to move.