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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the availability of fresh food will not be affected by the implementation of import checks on food products arriving from the EU.

Fruit and vegetable imports have been classified as low-risk meaning they will not require any additional paperwork or checks. We do not expect a significant impact on availability. In implementing this new control regime for the first time on EU imports, we will carefully monitor the range of potential risks, including those that may impact food supply-chains. Where possible we will work with importers to try to manage those risks in a structured way, considering whether there are appropriate contingencies which we can deploy if and when required.

The UK Government will also work closely with our key trading partners, to ensure that the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.