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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking to ensure there is adequate funding and checks at border security for veterinary and meat imports to protect the farming industry against importing issues like foot and mouth disease or African Swine Fever.

Border checks undertaken by competent authorities are an important element of the system designed to manage biosecurity risks.

The SPS controls at the border on EU goods implemented under the Border Target Operating Model provide assurance that the underlying systems of controls are working as intended. This includes import conditions, certification signed by veterinarian authorities in exporting countries, risk assessments, border checks, and other intelligence led controls.

Defra is working with the Home Office and Border Force and has provided significant funding for Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) to ensure operations around detecting illegal meat imports are as effective as possible.

Defra has committed £3.1m for DPHA to work in partnership with Border Force in seizing meat smuggled via the Port of Dover in 2025/26, additional to over £9m of funding provided to date. Defra is considering the recommendations in the EFRA Committee’s report on meat smuggling.

For Defra’s full response to the EFRA committee report, please see here.

Defra publishes assessments of the risk of animal diseases entering Great Britain through trade in animal products here.