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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to consult UK farmers and food processors on her decision to change pre-export requirements from a farmer declaration to a veterinary attestation with immediate effect on 13 December 2022.

Businesses exporting goods from GB to the EU are required by the EU to use Export Health Certificates (EHCs) signed by an official vet. EU law sets out the rules which animals and products from third countries must meet via an EHC. Since the introduction of the EU’s Animal Health Regulation in April 2021, these requirements have included a need for ‘regular’ animal heath visits by a veterinarian to establishments of origin of animals providing products of animal of origin for export i.e., for meat, the farm where the animals were kept before slaughter. These requirements are set by the EU and are not within the control of the UK Government. The purpose of the veterinary visit is to detect or provide information on the signs of disease and these visits must take place at a frequency proportionate to risk.

Official Veterinarians (OV) are required to meet the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons principles when signing Export Health Certificates. The process of providing evidence of regular vet visits is outlined to Official Veterinarians and exporters in the Notes for Guidance. We are aware of the concerns raised by industry about the process of providing evidence of regular vet visits for non-assured farms and we are engaging with businesses and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to try and ease the burden on exporters in meeting these EU requirements. Defra’s published existing Notes for Guidance to support this export activity is clear that 13 December date for a change to the form of evidence a certifying vet can accept will be kept under review. We expect to issue further information to industry in the coming weeks.