Serious concerns raised over Defra's ‘no deal' preparations

24 October 2018

The EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee has written to Secretary of State Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, after his appearance in front of the Committee last week raised serious concerns about his department's preparations for a 'no deal' Brexit scenario.

The Committee's letter raises five key concerns:

Delays to animal exports

Unless the Government can persuade the EU to give the UK 'listed' status in advance of Brexit, all animal exports could be halted for months.

Border Inspection Posts

All animal exports that currently travel Dover-Calais will have to be re-routed. Calais does not have a Border Inspection Post; something all animal exports would have to pass through in a ‘no deal' scenario.

Controlling access to UK waters

The Committee were concerned that the Secretary of State had yet to receive permission to obtain the additional staff and boats required for fisheries control and enforcement.

Waste shipments

No agreement has been reached on how shipments of waste from the UK to the EU will be approved. The waste industry has told the Committee that this could lead to 1.8m tonnes of waste being 'stranded' in the UK.

Chemical regulation

The Secretary of State seemed unaware that UK chemical companies may not own the rights to the data that proves their chemicals are safe to use. The Government's plans for the chemical industry in the case of a 'no deal' Brexit are predicated on companies being able to provide this.

Further information

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