Robin Swann

The right hon. Member makes a very valid point. I remember well the Saturday when the EU tried to use article 16 of the protocol for covid vaccinations. At that point much work was done for human medicines, but that was a number of years ago. It was done between the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, the Cabinet Office and, indeed, the European Union. I am still at a loss as to why the same emphasis was not applied to animal medicines at that point in time, because it was not as if the challenges were not known back then. Human medicines can be licensed by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in Northern Ireland, allowing the same provisions for medicines in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain, but the same is not true for veterinary medicines. Once the grace period ends on 31 December this year, any veterinary medicine that comes directly from GB to Northern Ireland will be treated as a non-EU import into Northern Ireland and subject to additional red tape. We have seen the grace period extended multiple times, but extensions are not a solution. We need certainty. The Government’s commitment to provide timely advice and information during the transition period is welcome, but that engagement alone will not secure supply chains in the long term.