PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(23 February 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has sought equivalent provisions in the UK-EU SPS Agreement negotiations to the animal welfare carve-out provisions contained in Article 7 of the EU-Switzerland Common Food Safety Area Protocol agreed in 2025.

Asked by:
Sam Carling (Labour)

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on May 19, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where the UK needs to retain our own rules. Negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement are underway and Defra cannot provide an ongoing commentary on these discussions, but the Government is clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards.

Answered by:
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