Detailed guide: Controls of fish and shellfish diseases in England and Wales

Reduce the risk of disease, find out where notifiable diseases have been confirmed in England and Wales



Chancellor prioritises climate change and urged support for vulnerable countries in first UK G7 Finance Meeting

News story

The Chancellor today called on his international counterparts to make climate and nature considerations a central part of all economic and financial decision-making in 2021.

G7
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak co-hosted the first G7 meeting with Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey (Friday 12 February)
  • the Chancellor called on the G7 to take the lead in shaping support for vulnerable countries in 2021, and makes climate and nature considerations a central priority for this year’s Finance Agenda, paving the way to a truly green global economic recovery
  • attendees included Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from across the G7 nations, representatives from the European Commission, European Central Bank, and Eurogroup, and leaders of the IMF, World Bank Group, OECD and Financial Stability Board

Chairing his first meeting of the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors under the UK Presidency, Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out his priorities for the year ahead which also include protecting jobs and supporting the global economic recovery, working to reach a global solution to the tax challenges created by digitalisation of the economy and providing necessary support for the world’s most vulnerable countries.

Hosting the meeting alongside Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey, the Chancellor urged his counterparts to match the UK’s ambitions ahead of COP26, and stressed the importance of working together to support a smooth and effective transition of our economies to net zero.

Ministers and Central Bank Governors exchanged views on how best to shape and respond to the phases of the global recovery from Covid-19, including supporting workers and businesses in the near term while ensuring sustainability in the long term.

The Chancellor also highlighted the moral, health and economic case for rapid and fair vaccine distribution across the world and called on the G7 to take the lead in shaping support for vulnerable countries in 2021. The G7 must ensure that International Financial Institutions have the right tools to equip and enable vulnerable countries to respond to the pandemic, and the Chancellor called on private sector creditors to play their full part to help ensure sustainable debt treatments for the poorest countries, paving the way for a truly global recovery.

Making progress on reaching an international solution to the tax challenges of the digital economy was noted as a key priority. The UK underlined our commitment to this issue, and called on the G7 to work together towards reaching an enduring multilateral solution by the mid-2021 deadline agreed by the G20. To this end the Chancellor pointed to the need for constructive joint work across the G7, G20 and OECD.

Joined by counterparts from the G7 the Chancellor also warmly welcomed US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to her first G7 meeting in her new capacity.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak thanked his colleagues for the call, and closed by stressing this once in a generation opportunity to work together in our efforts to save lives, support jobs, and build a fairer, greener and more prosperous world.

Further information

  • the G7 comprises of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the EU

Published 12 February 2021



Privy Council appointments: 12 February 2021

Press release

The Queen has approved the following new appointments to Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council.

The Queen has been pleased to approve that Stuart Andrew MP, Nigel Evans MP, Mark Pritchard MP, Col Robert Stewart DSO MP, Stewart Hosie MP, Dame Diana Johnson MP, Angela Rayner MP, Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds MP, Jonathan Ashworth MP and Lord (Edward) Udny-Lister, be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

Published 12 February 2021



Guidance: Businesses approved to export to the EU

Use the lists to check your business in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or one of the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man) is approved to export to the EU, and find out what your TRACES number is.



Scottish seafood taskforce meets to drive progress

A new seafood taskforce met for the first time today (Friday 12 February), drawing together senior political figures, industry representatives and UK Government officials, all bidding to solve ongoing problems with exports.

Chaired by UK Government Minister for Scotland, David Duguid, the virtual meeting was attended by UK Environment Secretary George Eustice and Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism with the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Seafood Exports Taskforce included industry representatives drawn from the catching, processing and exporting sectors.

Minister Duguid told the meeting:

This taskforce is about developing solutions and delivering action rapidly.

It is not a talking shop and we will provide evidence of delivery.

Mr Eustice said other UK Government working groups to tackle immediate problems would continue to operate and support businesses to adjust to the new requirements and troubleshoot where problems occur such as issues with Export Health Certificates and customs declarations.

During the meeting the movement of mixed loads of small consignments, known as groupage, was discussed and the variation in time taken for loads to be cleared, with constructive discussions on how practical solutions could be arrived at to ease the flow of goods.

Minister Duguid said after the meeting:

The spirit of co-operation between all parties was good to see and my officials will now drill down to identify areas for rapid action.

The next taskforce meeting is in a fortnight but our engagement with industry continues on a daily basis, as does our work to speed world-class Scottish seafood from port to plate as smoothly as possible.

The taskforce has a core body of representatives from stakeholders and UK Government departments but also has the ability to invite in other industry representatives and experts on an ad hoc basis

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs and the UK Government Border Delivery & Protocol Group were represented.

The meeting comes in the same week that the UK Government’s £23 million Seafood Disruption Support Scheme opened for applications to businesses that suffered a financial loss because of delays related to the export of fresh or live fish and shellfish to the EU during January 2021.

This is in addition to the £100 million fund announced by the Prime Minister in December to help modernise fishing fleets and the fish processing industry and is on top of the £32 million that will replace EU funding this year.

Support provided to the industry includes:

  • Dialogue has already delivered swift solutions to a number of problems that caused difficulties for the industry, including – but not limited to – computer system glitches.

  • Issuing clear guidance on the required IT forms to stakeholder representative groups, hauliers and businesses.

  • Frequent meetings with businesses to understand and address issues as they arise.

  • Working closely with individual businesses to help them get used to the new procedures required to ensure that errors or problems are tackled early.

  • UK Government has stood up extra physical resources to support certification in a Scottish export hub.

  • The UK Government has provided specialist certifiers to support Food Standards Scotland and DFDS.

  • Working with French authorities to ensure that minor administrative issues associated with EHCs have not prevented goods from entering the market and with the EU Commission to help member states adopt consistent approaches.

  • Providing extensive guidance as part of a range of measures to help the industry meet new export requirements, including training, regular engagement and weekly bulletins.