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 oral contribution of 19 January 2024 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Border Target Operating Model: Health Certificates and SMEs, Official Report column 1216, what the common user charge for imports into the UK will be; and when he plans to apply it.

Defra consulted last year on the proposed Common User Charge (CUC) to recover operating costs at Government-run Border Control Posts. It invited views on the principles, methodology and indicative rates for the Common User Charge to determine fair and reasonable charges.

Defra will use feedback to inform the final policy, which we expect to publish shortly.

Commercial BCP fees are a business decision for the operators of those sites.