Committee publication · Correspondence · 9 September 2025
Correspondence from Food Standards Scotland on the SPS Vet Agreement, dated 18 July 2025
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Animal and plant health
Summary
Food Standards Scotland's Chair writes to the EFRA Committee Chair outlining FSS's position on the SPS-Vet Agreement. While supporting the agreement's potential benefits for Scottish food businesses and EU export efficiency, FSS emphasises the legal necessity for robust regulatory frameworks and warns that ambitious timescales risk undermining four-nations collaboration and resource capacity.
Key findings
- FSS acknowledges the SPS agreement's potential to benefit Scottish food and drink businesses through more efficient, cost-effective EU export means
- FSS holds a legal responsibility to ensure food safety and consumer protection, requiring an effective regulatory framework underpinning any agreement
- Ambitious timescales for the agreement pose significant resource challenges for FSS and counterparts in other UK administrations due to legislative work required
- FSS warns that pressure from tight timescales risks sacrificing engagement and collaboration between UK and devolved administrations despite generally positive Defra relations
- FSS Chair reaffirms commitment to collaborative four-nations approach but emphasises need for effective coordination from the outset to balance political ambitions with regulatory responsibilities
Tone
ProceduralTopics
food-safetytrade-agreementdevolved-governanceregulatory-framework
Key actors
Heather Kelman, Alistair Carmichael MP, Geoff Ogle, Food Standards Scotland, Angus Robertson, Mairi Gougeon, Jenni Minto, Defra
Notable line
“… it is important that there is recognition that we must also ensure that we have an effective regulatory framework underpinning the agreement in order to provide adequate …”
Key Quotes
“… it is important that there is recognition that we must also ensure that we have an effective regulatory framework underpinning the agreement in order to provide adequate assurance to not only our own population but also the EU”
“Bringing the agreement into effect - and the ambitious timescales we are hearing - will have a significant resource impact on FSS given the amount of legislative work that rests with us and indeed our counterparts …”
“… when under pressure, there is a risk going forward that engagement and foodstandards.gov.scot 2 collaboration is sacrificed because of timescales.”
“I would hope that our generally positive relations can be maintained in what is going to be quite challenging task.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗