Research briefing - Provisional common framework: Food and Feed Safety and Hygiene
The UK and devolved governments have agreed to establish common frameworks to manage divergence between different parts of the UK in some policy areas previously governed at EU level. This briefing looks at how the provisional framework on food and feed safety and hygiene could shape future Welsh law and policy in this area.
The provisional Food and Feed Safety and Hygiene common framework was published on 27 November 2020, following provisional agreement by the UK and devolved governments. Between December 2020 and March 2021, the Senedd’s External Affairs Committee carried out initial scrutiny of the framework.
The framework sets out how the UK and devolved governments will work together to decide where to align and diverge in the regulation of food and feed safety and hygiene post-Brexit. It is one of the more complex and wide-ranging frameworks, reflecting the breadth of this policy area, but shares common features with most other published frameworks.
This briefing considers:
- the policy context in Wales and across the UK;
- retained EU legislation in this area and the transfer of functions from EU to domestic authorities;
- how the framework aims to manage regulatory divergence and interacts with the UK Internal Market Act 2020;
- how the framework aims to manage the implementation of international obligations and devolved representation at an international level;
- how stakeholders have been able to engage with the framework; and
- how the framework will be reviewed and revised in the future.
The governments acknowledge that the framework is a work in progress. Negotiations continue on how common frameworks should interact with:
The Senedd is expected to play an ongoing role in scrutinising the operation of the framework.
Article by Lucy Valsamidis and Sara Moran, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
