Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 establish a permanent personal import policy for goods entering Great Britain from the EU.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra keeps the rules for personal imports of meat and dairy products from the EU under review. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 help increase rates of prosecution for smuggling meat into Great Britain.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Enforcement authorities are responsible for deciding whether to prosecute. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 tackle illegal meat imports through passenger routes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border Force is responsible for enforcing the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 in England in relation to animal products in any place, other than Border Control Posts, where goods are subject to customs supervision. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to concentrate the responsibility for tackling illegal meat imports into fewer bodies.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border Force is responsible for enforcing the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 in England in relation to animal products in any place, other than Border Control Posts, where goods are subject to customs supervision. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
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 help tackle the sale of foreign meat labelled as being of British origin.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions. Food from elsewhere in the world that is simply re-packaged in the UK, without any further processing, does not confer UK origin on it and therefore any suggestion that the food is from the UK would be misleading.
If processed foods, such as bacon or sausages, and composite foods, such as pies and ready meals, list that they are made in the UK but their primary ingredient is from another country then the label must highlight this: for example, a British Steak & Ale pie made, assembled and baked in the UK with beef from Ireland must state ‘Made in the UK using Irish beef’.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment with the Home Secretary of the potential merits of giving port health authorities stop, search and seize powers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 already give port health authorities in England, search and seize powers in relation to animal products.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring Products of Animal Origin enforcement (a) powers and (b) funding to port health authorities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 designate port health authorities in England, as enforcement authorities for animal products. Defra has committed £3.1 million for Dover Port Health Authority to work in partnership with Border Force in seizing meat smuggled via the Port of Dover in 2025/26, additional to over £9 million of funding provided to date.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff have been employed by the Dover Port Health Authority in each of the last 20 years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not hold this information. Dover District Council is designated as port health authority for the Port of Dover.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on (a) biosecurity arrangements and (b) the illegal importation of food products.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The biosecurity arrangements and regulatory frameworks for imports are no longer the same as when we were in the EU. Since leaving the EU, we have put in place sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules for importing food products from the EU into Great Britain and amended SPS rules for importing food products from the rest of the world in line with the Border Target Operating Model.
The Government Major Projects Portfolio has approved a monitoring and evaluation plan for the Borders, Boundaries and Trade Programme which will explore questions relating to the performance and effectiveness of the Border target Operating Model.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing levels of funding and (b) widening the responsibilities for the Border Force to include animal products originating from the rest of world.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border Force is funded by Home Office. Defra has committed £3.1 million for Dover Port Health Authority to work in partnership with Border Force in seizing meat smuggled via the Port of Dover in 2025/26, additional to over £9 million of funding provided to date.
Border Force is responsible for enforcing the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 in England in relation to animal products in any place, other than Border Control Posts, where goods are subject to customs supervision.