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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations his Department has made to ensure that the UK is able to use its border arrangements to protect plant and animal health in the event of no withdrawal agreement being reached pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.

In the event of a non-negotiated departure from the EU, it is essential that we are able to maintain protection against plant pests and diseases while ensuring trade is as frictionless as possible at the border. This is our overarching goal and it is essential both to protect a significant domestic industry and to underpin our ability to trade in plants and their products. We are putting plans in place to ensure this is the case in the event of no withdrawal agreement being reached.