The Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life upon the undermentioned:

Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party:

1. Rt Hon Sir Richard Benyon – former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and MP for Newbury.
2. Peter Cruddas – businessman and philanthropist.
3. Dame Jacqueline Foster – formerly Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament and Member of the European Parliament for North West England.
4. Stephanie Fraser – Chief Executive of Cerebral Palsy Scotland.
5. Dean Godson – Director of Policy Exchange.
6. Daniel Hannan – formerly Member of the European Parliament for South East England.
7. Syed Kamall – formerly Leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament and Member of the European Parliament for London.

Nominations from the Leader of the Labour Party:

1. Cllr Judith Blake CBE – Leader of Leeds City Council.
2. Jennifer Chapman – formerly Member of Parliament for Darlington.
3. Vernon Coaker – formerly Minister of State for Schools and Member of Parliament for Gedling.
4. Wajid Khan – formerly Member of the European Parliament for North West England.
5. Gillian Merron – Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, former Minister of State for Public Health and Member of Parliament for Lincoln.

Nominations for Crossbench Peerages:

1. Sir Terence Etherton PC QC – Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice.
2. Sir Simon McDonald KCMG KCVO – lately Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service.
3. Sir Andrew Parker KCB – lately Director General of MI5, the Security Service.
4. The Rt Revd. And Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu – lately Archbishop of York.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission was invited by the Prime Minister to undertake vetting of all party political and cross bench nominations. The Commission is an independent non statutory body. It provides advice, but appointments are a matter for the Prime Minister. The Commission has completed its vetting in respect of all nominees. The Commission advised the Prime Minister that it could not support one nominee – Peter Cruddas. The Prime Minister has considered the Commission’s advice and wider factors, and concluded that, exceptionally, the nomination should proceed. The Prime Minister wrote to the Chair of the Commission on 21 December. This letter can be found here.

Defra update

Defra are working to compile a list of businesses that can take advantage of the authorised trader 3 month grace period, as outlined in the Command Paper last week. The grace period will only cover certain goods: products of animal origin (POAO), composite products, food and feed not of animal origin, and plants and plant products.

If you move these goods from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI), please continue reading to assess whether your business can be added to the list.

• ‘Authorised traders’ are supermarkets and their trusted suppliers

• The UK government will not discriminate against smaller suppliers or between different companies in recognising traders as authorised for the purpose of this grace period

A trusted supplier is one that independently moves its end product from GB to NI, for sale in NI.

• For example, a meat pie manufacturer that moves its own products from GB to NI, which delivers its products directly to a store for sale solely within NI would be in scope.

However, where a meat pie producer delivers products to a supermarket distribution centre in GB, which is then moved by the supermarket to NI, the producer would not qualify (but would not need to – the supermarket would be the authorised trader for that movement into Northern Ireland).

Self-identification by traders

Defra are compiling a list of authorised traders who can benefit from the 3 month grace period. Once identified the traders will be added to Defra’s list of authorised traders that will be sent to the European Commission.

You can also self-identify to apply for inclusion on the authorised traders list.

If you self-identify as an authorised trader, complete the authorised traders form. The form must be completed fully.

Make sure you provide your:

• business name

• company affiliation (if a supplier)

• Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI)

• head office address

• NI distribution address (if relevant)

The form will ask further information on your operations. This information will be required to determine whether you are eligible for inclusion on the list.

Please email the completed authorised traders form to nisupermarketandsupplierlist@defra.gov.uk by 17.00 pm (GMT) on 28 December 2020. They will attempt to respond to all emails within 2 working days.

If you have any questions about your eligibility, please email nisupermarketandsupplierlist@defra.gov.uk. The emailed response will either:

• confirm that your business is included on the authorised traders list and detail your business’s unique registration number

or

• contain a rejection letter with reasoning and steps to resolution. Businesses can challenge rejection decisions via email until 28 December 2020

If you have any queries relating to authorised trader requirements or the grace period, email nisupermarketandsupplierlist@defra.gov.uk.

We ask that you share this communication with colleagues or business associates who may be eligible for the authorised trader list.