Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, if he will make an estimate of the fees charged by privately-run Border Control Posts when processing consignments which are subject to the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Commercial Border Control Post fees are a business decision for the operators of those sites. Port Health Authorities (PHAs) have charging mechanisms in place for covering the costs of checking sanitary and phytosanitary consignments, and the Government, in conjunction with devolved administrations, is working with PHAs to review fee levels and support the implementation of new checks of imports from the EU in early 2024.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, whether goods checked at a Government-run border control post will be subject to any (a) fees and (b) charges other than the Common User Charge and costs relating to the acquisition of Environmental Health Certificates.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Port Health Authorities (PHAs)have charging mechanisms in place for covering the costs of checking sanitary and phytosanitary consignments, and the Government, in conjunction with devolved administrations, is working with PHAs to review fee levels and support the implementation of new checks of imports from the EU in early 2024.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is the competent authority with responsibility for the inspections of plants and plant products at Border Control Posts and Control Points. APHA charging rates for these inspections can be found here.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to individual business of acquiring an Environmental Export Health Certificate for a consignment of goods being imported to the UK since the introduction of the Border Target Operating Model in January 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will publish the Economic Impact Assessment of the legislative measures required to enable the Border Target Operating Model in due course and no later than the Statutory Instruments are laid. This will contain summary data tables and they will include the requested information.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 18133 on Import Controls, what standards goods will be required to demonstrate they meet via an export health certificate in order to be eligible for import into the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Specific requirements will vary by commodity, with details available on the Gov.uk pages for certification Import goods into the UK: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The BTOM will operate a sophisticated approach to risk categorisation, with the intensity of controls calibrated to the level of risk presented by each commodity.
For high-risk and medium-risk goods, we will retain health certification and BCP inspection, albeit with frequently lower inspection rates than under the EU model. Documentary-only checks will be performed remotely instead of all regulated goods having to present documents at a BCP.
For low-risk animal products as a matter of routine we will only require electronic pre-notification, which is already in place. Low-risk plant produce (fruit and vegetables with no known specific disease or pest risk associated) will be removed from import health control requirements altogether. There will no longer be any requirements for pre-notification, with enhanced inland monitoring and surveillance in place to ensure it is compliant with the UK's high food safety and standards and to keep track of any issues. We will simplify Export Health Certificates and make health certificates digital wherever possible.
For medium-risk goods, we will extend the well-established concept of trusted trader into the SPS sphere, by working with industry to pilot new trusted trader authorisations for SPS goods.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, whether the common user charge will include costs related to the processing of imports via the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Port Health Authorities (PHAs) have charging mechanisms in place for covering the costs of checking SPS consignments, and the Government, in conjunction with devolved administrations, is working with them to review fee levels and support the implementation of new checks of imports from the EU in early 2024.
Commercial BCP fees are a business decision for the operators of those sites.
The Common User Charge is to recover the costs of operating government-run BCP facilities in England. Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels. Defra has used feedback to inform the final policy and rates, which we expect to publish shortly.
PHAs or local authorities undertake checks on animal products and High-Risk Feed or Food Not of Animal Origin (HRFNAO) at BCP. APHA is the competent authority with responsibility for the inspections of plants and plant products at all BCPs and control points.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, if he will publish a list of all Border Control Posts where imports will (a) be subject to the Common User Charge and (b) subject to other charges.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Common User Charge for the recovery of BCP operating costs applies only to government-run BCPs in England. Commercial operators will independently set charges for their own BCP facilities.
Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels. Defra has used feedback to inform the final policy and rates, which we expect to publish shortly.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14058 on Imports: Disease Control, when he will publish the Government response to the Common User Charge consultation.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels and will publish an update on the Common User Charge shortly. This will include the Government response to the Common User Charge consultation.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 11320 on Import Controls: Disease Control, which categories of consignment will be required to pay the Common User Charge, by risk level.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels and will publish an update on the Common User Charge shortly. This will include the Government response to the Common User Charge consultation. Further information on the policy and rates will be included in the upcoming publication.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11319 on Import Controls, whether the 17.4m additional safety and security declarations projected to be required is inclusive of the 4.5m consignments subject to sanitary and phytosanitary checks.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The forecast number of Safety & Security (S&S) declarations includes declarations for those goods which will also be subject to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements. The numbers referred to by the Hon Lady are not directly comparable, as a single S&S declaration may correspond with multiple SPS requirements for the same shipment.
All goods, including those not subject to SPS requirements, will be subject to occasional intelligence-led checks by Border Force. S&S declarations are an important part of Border Force’s frontier risk assessment processes. The data gathered informs intelligence-based checks to identify and seize illicit goods. Increased S&S data will help us better target illicit goods, and allow legitimate goods to continue to move freely.
If a consignment is not subject to SPS requirements, it will not be subject to the Common User Charge.