Baroness Lawlor (Con)

My Lords, this EU regulation banning the import of certain fresh food products into this country imposes EU laws on GB by negative statutory instrument. It anticipates the dynamic alignment for the whole agri-food sector proposed by the EU reset. As has already been pointed out here and in the other place, it does so under cover of the 2018 withdrawal agreement Act, which at the time was understood to be for Northern Ireland and not the whole of the UK. This set of regulations imposes EU law on the UK, with dynamic alignment with the EU on SPS policy. I take issue with the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman. It may be peppers or tomatoes, but perhaps it would be helpful for the House to know that more than half of the fresh foods that come to supermarket shelves are from rest of the world countries. It will perhaps have an impact on the cost of living; we will see about the competitive market and how this works. This dynamic alignment raises serious constitutional questions about an executive diktat to which noble Lords on both sides have referred. It is a matter of importance on which the whole country has voted. It voted twice, in the referendum and in 2019, to take back control of our lawmaking from the EU. In February 2026, the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs raised this and said there were concerns about Parliament’s role in scrutinising European legislation and the capacity within EU institutions to check that. I leave noble Lords with this: it is a constitutional issue of the first importance, and it is lawmaking by the backdoor.