PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Plants: Imports (14 June 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in EU member states to build competence and trust in respective phytosanitary processes with the aim of establishing inspections at points of embarkation for plant and tree imports.

Asked by:
Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative)

Defra officials have been looking at a wide range or measures to make the import of plants and trees as efficient as possible, without compromising our high biosecurity standards. There is regular dialogue between our plant health services and those of our key trading partners in the EU, including on e-certification most recently, which will streamline the exchange of phytosanitary certificates for the benefit of businesses and regulators alike.

As to checks at point of embarkation, there are legal limitations with locating GB officials in a different jurisdiction to perform statutory functions, and whilst internationally there are precedents for locating inspectors in other countries, these staff typically perform an audit and assurance role rather than performing pre-import checks. Consequently, we are not actively pursuing this option with trading partners now, but Defra officials will continue to work with stakeholder organisations and those that import regulated plants and plant products from the EU to ensure GB plant health controls work as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Answered by:
Victoria Prentis (Conservative)
22 June 2021