Pulse.Assent

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister spoke to the Taoiseach this morning to take stock of the progress being made in the negotiations, including on the Northern Ireland backstop. In a constructive conversation, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach discussed the remaining issues.

They agreed that the intention was that the backstop should only be a temporary arrangement and that the best solution to the Northern Ireland border would be found by agreeing a future relationship between the UK and the EU. In order to ensure that the backstop, if ever needed, would be temporary, the Prime Minister said that there would need to be a mechanism through which the backstop could be brought to an end.

She affirmed the UK’s commitment to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and to avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach agreed that discussions should continue.

Olive trees (Olea europaea) will soon be added to the Government’s list of tree species included in the statutory notification scheme for imports from the EU. These new measures, coming into force on 26 November, will strengthen the UK’s protection against the risk of the plant disease Xylella.

The statutory notification scheme involves a legal requirement to notify the APHA in advance of the import of certain trees and plants from EU member states.

Olive trees are known hosts of the bacterium Xylella which causes disease in a wide range of plants grown in the UK and its introduction could have a significant effect on our landscapes. The Government is following the situation in Europe closely where the disease has devastated olive groves in southern Italy and was recently intercepted at a wholesaler in Belgium.

Adding olive trees to the notification scheme is part of the risk-based approach in tackling tree and plant diseases. It will help inspectors target specific imported plant consignments, giving the best chance of intercepting any diseased plants at an early stage.

These new measures apply to England only but other parts of the UK are considering the introduction of equivalent legislation.

Biosecurity Minister Lord Gardiner said:

Xylella is a major threat to our landscape and our industry and we must do all we can to ensure the UK remains a Xylella-free zone. That is why we have introduced tighter measures around the import of certain high risk-hosts, such as olive trees, which will come into force later this month.’’

Alongside these tightened measures we urge the public and tree and plant professionals to remain vigilant for signs of Xylella, practice good biosecurity measures and to notify authorities without delay if the disease is suspected.

All growers and traders should take the following actions:

• Ensure imported plants both originate from and are sourced from disease free areas.
• Source from known suppliers or visit suppliers to view their processes, procedures, bio-security arrangements and the plants they grow.
• Isolate or quarantine new batches of plants and monitor them during the growing season for signs of the disease.
• Ensure that plant passports arriving with plants are correct and keep the plant passport to aid trace back if necessary.
• Follow the full guidance on Gov.uk, including requirements on notifying imports to APHA.

HRH The Prince of Wales has visited a cocoa farm in Ghana to see how UK aid is helping farmers across the country to produce sustainable chocolate, create jobs, and reduce the impacts caused by climate change.

The cocoa products these farmers produce are being sold to companies selling chocolate bars and sweets in the UK – including Cadburys, Mars and Nestlé.

Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire jointly account for over two thirds of global cocoa production, but also suffer from one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa.

Cocoa farming is also under threat from increasing temperatures – putting thousands of livelihoods at risk.

In Ghana, UK aid is supporting over 70,000 cocoa farmers to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change and therefore better able to cope by using climate-smart cocoa agriculture which can protect against floods or drought.

Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

Thanks to UK aid, farmers in Ghana are learning sustainable farming techniques which protect cocoa crops from rising temperatures and the world’s leading cocoa and chocolate companies have committed to working to end deforestation and forest degradation.

This project which HRH The Prince of Wales visited today helps to illustrate how our vital support is ensuring the longevity of the cocoa industry for this generation and many more to come. This is a win for Ghana and a win for the UK.

The sustainably grown cocoa is also preserving the natural environment in Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Liberia, including critical wildlife habitats of the chimpanzee, and the natural resources local people depend upon.

UK aid’s support is expected to lead to almost £100 million of investment by the private sector in sustainable, climate resilience cocoa production – with the potential to create thousands more jobs in the future.

The UK is leading efforts bringing governments, industries and communities together to address deforestation in the cocoa supply chain, through the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI).

The Cocoa and Forests Initiative, launched by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 2017, sets out agreed actions – by the Governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, and 35 of the world’s leading chocolate and cocoa companies – to end deforestation and restore forests in the cocoa-growing regions of West Africa.

Today HRH was briefed by the governments of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and leading chocolate and cocoa companies on progress made in ending deforestation.

Notes to editors

• In March 2017, HRH The Prince of Wales convened a meeting in London of the World Cocoa Foundation and The Sustainable Trade Initiative and 12 of the world’s largest chocolate and cocoa companies. During the meeting all the companies launched a statement of intent to end the deforestation of rainforests in their supply chain. Ministers and senior government representatives of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Norway and the U.K. attended the meeting. To read The Prince’s speech from March 2017 visit https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speech/speech-hrh-prince-wales-meeting-cocoa-and-tropical-forests-spencer-house-london
• The Cocoa and Forests Initiative sets out the public-private actions on commitments on forest protection, sustainable cocoa production and farmer livelihoods.
• UK aid has invested £387,000 to support the CFI, which has mobilised £775,000 of investment by the private sector.
• UK aid has brought together over 500 stakeholders, including chocolate and cocoa companies, high-level government officials, development partners, environmental and civil society organizations, as well as farmer groups. Action is now being taken to put this commitment into practice.