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, if he will publish the (a) number, (b) value and (c) repayment rate of invoices issued at each border control point for charges incurred since 30 April 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
HM Government is responsible for setting charges on imports coming into GB to recover operating costs for the government-run BCP facilities serving the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel. Further detail on the Common User Charge including on invoicing and ongoing support will be published imminently.
The Common User Charge (CUC) rate will not apply at privately-run ports; it is up to individual commercial ports to determine their own charging structure and rates.
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, with reference to the Answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 13303, whether he plans to lay the statutory instruments required to enable the border target operating model under the affirmative or negative parliamentary procedure.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The following SIs required by the Border Target Operating Model have now been laid, and are listed along with the parliamentary procedure by which they were laid:
PH/050: Negative
PH/055: Negative
OFC/016: Affirmative
PH/040: Affirmative
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 15 April 2024 to Question 20051 Import Controls: Fees and Charges, whether consignments from the EU (a) inspected at Sevington border control post and (b) subject to the Border Target Operating Model which do not pass through any border control post other than Sevington will be liable for charges levied by the Government other than the Common User Charge.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Details of Animal and Plant Health Agency inspection fees can be found on Gov.uk. For Port Health Authorities (PHA) inspection fees, traders should contact the PHA in question; many PHAs list their charges on their websites.
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 14 May to Question 24028 on Import Controls: Disease Control, if he will publish a list of all impact assessments related to the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Analysis has been produced to support relevant legislation in accordance with the Better Regulation Framework. Any further impact assessments required under the Better Regulation Framework will be published on legislation.gov.uk.
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, how many physical inspections were carried out at the Sevington Border Control Post since 30 April 2024 by hour.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the inspection details. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.
DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.
This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.
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, how many hours the Automatic Licence Verification System at the Sevington Border Control Point has been out of operation for since 30 April 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer
A power outage at a privately owned data centre that Defra uses affected several Defra digital services last weekend. One of the services impacted was the Automatic Licence Verification System, which is used to validate and exchange information with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
This service was not available between 07:46 11 May and 20:50 14 May. This amounts to 85 hours and 4 minutes. Business Continuity Plans were implemented as soon as the disruption to the service was identified.
There have been no significant delays to border checks and we continue to protect our high standards of biosecurity in the UK through effective monitoring across all imports.
We have contingency arrangements in place for clearance of affected vehicles and consignments at the border, working alongside HMRC and Border Force.
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, whether his Department plans to make an estimate of the (a) number and (b) proportion of consignments transiting through Control Points that average more than two inspections a day between 19:00 and 07:00 hours.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the inspection details. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.
DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.
This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.
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 the cost to the public purse was for the administration of the Import of products, animals, food and feed system in each year since 2019.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Operating Costs for the IPAFFS Service for each year since 2019 are as follows:
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 the projected spend by (a) central and (b) local government is on Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors in 2024-25.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) undertakes a very broad range of statutory inspections across Great Britain to protect animal, bee and plant health. These can relate to animal welfare, TB, biosecurity of (including pests, disease outbreaks and invasive species), trade or scientific research.
These inspections can be proactive (for example a bovine TB visit) or reactive (due to an outbreak). Direct staff and employers on costs for these inspection services are £44.7m. These costs are funded by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. APHA does not have inspectors funded by local government.
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, how many consignments entering the UK under the Border Target Operating Model have (a) had their documentation checked when entering the UK and (b) not had the correct documentation since 1 February 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the exact inspection details from 30 April. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.
DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.
This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.