📜 Delegated Legislation Committee

• Introduction of New Regulations: The 2024 Draft Official Controls (Amendment) Regulations were presented by Daniel Zeichner, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs. The regulations aim to streamline the import process for sanitary and phytosanitary goods and were laid before the House on 19 November.

• Risk-Based Import Model: The new regulations implement a risk-based border target operating model intended to safeguard public, plant, and animal health while minimising border delays. This model allows for digital documentation and varying check frequencies based on the assessed risk of goods.

• Categories of Changes: The changes are divided into three categories:
  1. Long-term framework for sanitary and phytosanitary controls beyond temporary powers, including digital documentation for imports.
  2. Enabling administrative updates to import conditions of animals and animal products in response to changing risks, with the ability to exempt low-risk categories from routine checks.
  3. Future flexibility to reduce burdens and extend policies to non-EU goods, though immediate changes include diagnostic testing at border posts and enforcement of full cost recovery of common user charges.

• Responses to Concerns: The Minister addressed concerns raised by Friends of the Earth regarding the risk-based approach and the use of powers under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. He explained that the risk-based approach uses evidence to categorise goods and is within legal bounds.

• Support and Opposition Views: The opposition, represented by Robbie Moore, supports the regulations as they continue the work of the previous government and reduce red tape while protecting biosecurity. However, Jim Allister expressed concerns about the implications for Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, highlighting the regulation’s impact on territorial integrity and suggesting it treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK.

• Windsor Framework and Northern Ireland: The Minister assured that the regulations do not alter the commitments under the Windsor Framework, which guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods to the Great British market, despite Allister’s concerns about possible checks on goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

• Outcome: The committee agreed to the draft regulations, indicating broad support within the session, although concerns about their impact on Northern Ireland were acknowledged but not resolved in the session.

In the session on the Draft Official Controls (Amendment) Regulations 2024, the level of disagreement was relatively low. The majority of the members supported the regulations, with Robbie Moore (Con) explicitly stating that the official Opposition would support the changes. This indicates a broad agreement on the main aspects of the regulations. However, there was some disagreement and concern raised by Jim Allister (TUV) regarding the constitutional implications of the regulations, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland’s status under the Windsor framework. Allister’s points were addressed by the Minister, Daniel Zeichner, who attempted to reassure him that the regulations were consistent with existing commitments. Despite Allister’s strong objections, his concerns did not lead to broader opposition or a significant challenge to the passage of the regulations. Therefore, while there was some disagreement, it was not widespread or intense enough to significantly impact the overall consensus on the regulations.