Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) food safety regulations and (b) the system of food safety inspections at borders will be (i) maintained and (ii) operational in the event of disruption of food flows after (A) April 2019 and (B) at the end of the transition period.

It remains a top priority as the United Kingdom prepares to leave the European Union to ensure there remains a robust and effective regulatory regime for maintaining the safety of food, including imported food, for the benefit of UK consumers and of the UK food industry. The UK remains a member of the EU until it has negotiated its exit and will continue to comply with EU food and feed legislation during this time. If any rules change after EU Exit, we will apply our usual rigorous risk assessment to those changes and ensure public safety remains at the heart of everything we do.

Government Departments are working closely together to ensure we have a robust system in place for checking imported food and feed after leaving the EU. Food safety will remain central to any new system and we will ensure business can continue as normal. A range of solutions are being investigated to ensure that from day one food and feed imports can continue to enter the UK with the appropriate checks. Departments are also working together to identify the range of issues that will impact on the borders, including pinch points for specific ports and capacity for food sampling. A range of options are being investigated to address these issues and ensure that effective solutions are in place.