I am so proud to represent Rutland and Melton and all facets of its varied local economy and I am pleased that the UK Government will not compromise on our standards. I stood on a manifesto that in all our trade negotiations, we will not falter on our high standards on environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. The Government remains fully committed to upholding these high standards outside of the EU, and the EU Withdrawal Act will transfer all existing EU food safety provisions, including existing import requirements, onto the UK statute book.
Farming is the backbone of Britain and I am pleased that so much of the food we eat comes from our area, from the milk that we drink to famous Melton Mowbray pork pies, to traditional Stilton cheese. Farmers across Rutland and Melton hold themselves to the highest welfare standards, and this will not stop with our imports. Our import standards include a ban on all artificial growth hormones in domestic and imported products and set out that no products, other than potable water, are used to decontaminate poultry carcases. All imports must meet our strict food safety standards. When we leave the transition period, all high food safety standards will be carried over into UK law and Parliament will retain the final say over such standards.
I also want to be unequivocally clear that when we are negotiating trade deals the NHS will not be on the table. The price the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table. The services the NHS provides will not be on the table. The Government has repeated that time and time again. Just because the Labour Party desperately want headlines by repeatedly scaremongering in this way does not make their wild claims true. Protecting the NHS goes to the heart of our negotiations. For the first time since its creation, we will be able to source the best equipment for our NHS, and not be subject to EU medical regulations. As Liz Truss has said on Twitter: https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1285549356758773761?s=20
Parliament will retain any right to block any treaty from being ratified and will retain the right to reject any domestic implementing legislation necessary for a trade treaty. This is in line with similar systems such as Canada and goes further than countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where Parliament cannot directly block ratification of a trade treaty.