Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to provide financial support to East Suffolk District Council to employ additional port health officers at Felixstowe port in the event that the UK and the EU do not reach agreement on their future relationship after the transition period.

The Border Operating Model, published on 13 July and updated on 8 October, sets out the new systems and processes required to deliver sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls for goods imported from the EU. These will be introduced in a phased approach from January 2021 to July 2021.

Under this approach, port health authorities (PHAs) will not be required to carry out any new SPS checks on EU goods until 1 April 2021. Defra is working with PHAs across England, including Felixstowe, to ensure recruitment and training of the additional staff required is completed in time.

Defra recently launched a fund to assist PHAs, which will be administered as grants provided under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 to local authorities in England. The fund closed for applications on 13 September 2020 and we are currently assessing the bids.