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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the adequacy of EU export regulations for preventing the importation of diseased plants into the UK.

The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, set up under the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, provides a platform for information sharing and discussion on each of the Parties’ import and export requirements. It is using this mechanism that Defra could raise questions regarding the EU’s export regulations as they relate to plant health measures, if it were deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstance.

Non-compliant consignments imported into Great Britain from any country, including EU Member States, are monitored daily. Defra works together with the country concerned to identify and resolve any recurring issues. Between 01 January 2023 and 31 August 2024, Defra has notified the EU of 3525 non-compliant consignments. More data on EU non compliances can be found on the UK Plant Health Portal.