Emma Hardy

It is such a pleasure to serve under your chairwomanship, Dr Allin-Khan, and to respond to the debate. I thank the hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann) for securing this debate on a highly important matter and for his continued commitment to the veterinary medicine supply in Northern Ireland. He might have noticed I am not the farming Minister, but I am pleased to be here to respond on her behalf. I recognise how important this issue is to the people of Northern Ireland and all the communities the hon. Gentleman represents. He has raised many important issues with me today; I will endeavour to address as many as possible. Baroness Hayman was in Northern Ireland just last week meeting the hon. Gentleman and many of our organisations. She met vets, the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the permanent secretary, and the Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group to demonstrate how important the issue is to the UK Government. Those channels of dialogue remain open. I thank industry stakeholders for their ongoing support and work to make the changes necessary to continue supply to Northern Ireland. We have done extensive work with industry, which has given us the confidence in the arrangements we have put in place to manage a smooth transition into 2026. Before responding to specific questions raised in the debate, I want first to outline the Government’s view on veterinary medicine in Northern Ireland. Safeguarding the supply of veterinary medicine in Northern Ireland after the grace period ends remains a core Government priority. We are committed to ensuring that the health and welfare of all animals is maintained in all circumstances. We are aware of concerns raised about pack size, discontinued products and the potential for increased costs, and we take those concerns extremely seriously. We have engaged extensively with stakeholders on those issues. Based on the evidence available to us through this engagement, our view remains that disruption at the end of the grace period will be limited and the arrangements we have in place will manage supply into 2026.