THE UK GOVERNMENT has announced that it is to unilaterally extend a grace period that was given to supermarkets in Great Britain exporting agri-foods to Northern Ireland.

Under the trade agreement the UK and EU struck on Christmas Eve, decisions around the Northern Ireland Protocol must be taken jointly between both sides.

But the UK has said today that it will extend the grace period due to expire on 1 April, until 1 October this year – a six-month extension.

Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, health export certificates are required for agri-foods being sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

But out of concern that this additional paperwork and checks would hamper the North’s food supplies, a grace period was given to major supermarkets in order to keep shelves stocked. 

On 3 February, the UK formally requested that the European Commission extend this grace period, which would waive new checks and required paperwork for agri-foods, along with a number of other sectors, until 1 January 2023.

But today, it announced that it was unilaterally making the decision to extend it for six months. 

A UK government spokesperson for Northern Ireland said today: “For supermarkets and their suppliers, as part of the operational plan the UK committed to at the UK-EU Joint Committee on 24 February, the current Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland will continue until 1 October. Certification requirements will then be introduced in phases alongside the roll out of the Digital Assistance Scheme.

“In addition, further guidance will be provided later this week on parcel movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to provide necessary additional time for traders beyond 1 April. Guidance will also be set out to help address practical problems on soil attached to the movement of plants, seeds, bulbs, vegetables and agricultural machinery.”

The issue of parcel deliveries was one of the other issues that the British government had requested an extension of grace periods over, along with the extending the waiving of the ban on chilled and processed meats.

Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said in response to the UK government’s announcement:

“There will be very serious concerns about this, not with the ends but the means. Given the Brexit [trade agreement] still isn’t ratified, how will this build trust and allow for a positive reset of relations?”

The British government announced this measure amid a busy news day for the UK: the Budget was unveiled at 12.30pm in the House of Commons by Chancellor Rishi Sunak; and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave evidence over the Scottish Government’s handling of the Alex Salmond misconduct allegations.

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