Government challenged for claiming Windsor Framework a success after only 11 days of operation for first phase

The Oxfordshire based Horticultural Trade Association (HTA) spoke out after the Government's Baroness Neville-Rolfe wrote to the Northern Ireland Protocol sub-committee of the House of Lords to claim fears about the framework had proven unfounded.

The framework was agreed by the EU and UK to regulate GB-NI trade in the wake of Brexit.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe wrote to the Lords committee on 12 October, noting that some had sought to justify not forming a Stormont Executive because the framework would be unworkable.

"With these arrangements now in place, without those concerns materialising, there is an opportunity to move on to focusing more broadly on a plan to make Northern Ireland work - which is fundamental to the long-term future of the Union,” she added.

However HTA Policy Manager Sally Cullimore told the News Letter: "The key point is that the concerns have not materialised because trade hasn't resumed because of the issues, so our position remains the same.

“The Windsor Framework will not see a resumption in the trade previously seen between GB and NI, and plants are one of the most affected trading sectors."

The EU has been especially strict on regulating GB selling plants and seeds to NI because it sees the Irish Sea as the new EU frontier which must be defended against alien disease.

Ms Cullimore said that new forms that its GB members must complete to sell to NI were only released on 28 September and that traders must sign up to two new regulation schemes in order to sell to NI.

GB retailers will therefore be relying on their grower-suppliers to be authorised to issue the required Plant Health Labels and also relying on them supplying commercial information now required by the EU to get GB plants into NI, she added.

A Cabinet Office spokesman did not directly address the HTA concerns. “The Windsor Framework is a good deal for Northern Ireland - delivering the smooth flow of trade, protecting Northern Ireland's place in the Union and creating a robust framework for solving future issues," he responded.

“We will continue to engage extensively with businesses, communities and political parties to support them in adapting to these new arrangements. We want to see a locally elected and accountable Executive restored to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland."

DUP MP Carla Lockhart said only one aspect of the framework went live on 1 October, the NI Retail Movement Scheme.

"For the government to make such an assessment when only one element of the framework has been implemented and after just a few days represents spin rather than an objective analysis,” she said.

"It is not quick fixes or temporary workarounds that are needed however, but action to deal with the outstanding issues to restore Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom and its internal market.

“It was through decisive action taken by the DUP that the progress made to date was secured. We haven’t come this far to accept arrangements that fall short of what the Prime Minister promised to deliver.”

Two weeks ago the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) warned that the framework does not resolve potentially 'devastating effects' in veterinary medicines supply problems to NI and that patience is "running thin" on its failure to resolve difficulties in moving livestock across the Irish Sea. It also said serious difficulties in buying plants and crop treatments from GB have not been resolved either.

The British Veterinary Association has similarly warned that NI is facing a potential public health crisis when EU rules are once again poised to block 51% of veterinary medicines coming in from GB in 2025.

In March last year, then Secretary of State Brandon Lewis told the Commons that over 200 GB businesses had stopped supplying NI due to the Protocol. The government has declined to supply an updated figure.