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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria his Department plans to use to decide when personal imports of meat and dairy products from the European Union can be reinstated.

Personal imports of meat and dairy products from the European Union (EU) into Great Britain (GB) are subject to a transitional exemption from rules that apply to personal imports from outside the EU single market. As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, we have put in place a series of emergency safeguard measures banning personal imports of certain animal products into GB, in response to outbreaks of Peste des Petits Ruminants, African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease in the European Union. The devolved governments in Wales and Scotland have put in place equivalent measures. Decisions on whether to lift safeguard measures on personal imports of animal products are based on expert risk assessments and advice from the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and the Chief Veterinary Officers in Wales and Scotland. We publish risk assessments on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring.