THE House of Lords has voted in favour of an NFU-backed amendment to the Agriculture Bill tabled by Lord Curry, which would strengthen the role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

The amendment passed with a 107 vote majority, showing the strength of feeling following a concerted period of lobbying by the NFU.

If the amendment goes on to be approved by MPs in the House of Commons in October, the Bill will give the Commission the power to provide Parliament with independent advice about the impact every future trade deal will have on British food and farming standards.

The NFU first called for a commission to uphold British farming’s high production standards post-Brexit in September 2019.

In January this year, the NFU mobilised a huge coalition of farming, environmental, animal welfare and public health organisations to write a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for British food standards to be protected in future trade deals.

At the NFU Conference, former Defra Secretary of State Michael Gove agreed in principle to the NFU’s demands.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss confirmed the establishment of the Trade and Agriculture Commission on June 29, following the success of the NFU’s public pressure campaign on food standards, which culminated in a petition signed by more than a million people and more than 78,000 people writing to their MP using the NFU’s online tool.

In July, it was announced that the NFU would represent farming as a member of the Commission.

NFU president Minette Batters said: “It is fantastic that the House of Lords has voted for Lord Curry’s amendment to the Agriculture Bill, which would allow Parliament to be provided with independent advice about the impact every trade deal will have on our food and farming standards.

"We believe the role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission is crucial to providing proper parliamentary oversight of our future trade policy and it is encouraging to see Peers support this view.

The Agriculture Bill will return to the House of Commons in October, where MPs will decide whether this and other amendments will pass into law.

The NFU wants Parliament to be provided with independent advice about the impact every trade deal will have on British food and farming standards before it decides whether to accept or reject those trade deals. The NFU will continue to lobby MPs and mobilise support from the public in order to call on the government to make provision in law that it will not agree trade deals which would allow food into this country that would be illegal for farmers to produce here.