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 number of Export Health Certificates that will be required each month for movements of live animals or animal products between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the grace period ends on 1 April 2021.

We estimate demand for Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for movements to Northern Ireland may increase by between 70,000 and 150,000 per year (taking into account the Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI under which authorised traders do not require EHCs). Up to 70 FTE Official Veterinarians (OVs) may be required to certify these EHCs. The actual OV requirement will depend on multiple factors, many of which we cannot quantify with certainty. The number of OVs qualified to certify exports of products of animal origin has increased from 600 in February 2019 to more than 1,700 currently.