The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has launched inquiries into the UK’s national biosecurity and the food supply chain.
The cross-party committee of MPs has issued call for evidence to inform its inquiry into biosecurity measures for animal and plant imports to the UK.
Through its focus on biosecurity at the border, the committee will examine the stringency of biosecurity controls, as well as their impact on international trade following the introduction of new animal and plant health checks on goods from the EU last year.
MPs will investigate the efficacy of biosecurity measures and what immediate improvements can be made to personal and commercial import controls in advance of, or in the absence of, a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) or veterinary agreement with the EU.
Over the span of the Committee’s broader inquiry on animal and plant health, MPs will also scrutinise the resourcing and work of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
EFRA chair Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “The biosecurity measures we have in this country are of the utmost importance. Any weak points expose the UK to serious risks, such as African swine fever, which would have catastrophic consequences for the agriculture sector.
“In this inquiry, we are setting out to assess the adequacy of our biosecurity measures and will consider what could be done to strengthen biosecurity at the border.
“We want to hear from the wide range of stakeholders with an interest in biosecurity, from the veterinary sector to the agricultural, forestry and horticultural sectors, to workers and businesses in the food and drink supply chain, and enforcement bodies for welfare, standards and hygiene, such as local authorities and port health authorities.”
Written evidence is invited by 29 January in response to any or all of the following:
- the adequacy of personal import controls on animals, plants and their products and the enforcement of controls;
- the adequacy of SPS controls on commercial imports, their enforcement, and the impact on businesses;
- the performance of Defra and its agencies (such as the APHA) in delivering the Border Target Operating Model and communicating and engaging with stakeholders;
- how any concerns detailed in your submission may be remedied (in advance, or in the absence, of an SPS agreement with the EU).