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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Border Control Post at Sevington at protecting the UK from biosecurity risks.

Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the Border Target Operating Model, including the Border Control Post at Sevington. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity.

Border Controls are working and physical checks play an important role in helping stop harmful plant and animal diseases reaching our shores, as evidenced by the detection of non-native plant pests found in shipments that arrived at Sevington BCP last month. These shipments were all destroyed.

Defra is not seeing evidence of routine queues or delays at Sevington.