Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the impact of current operating hours of privately-run Border Control Posts on just-in-time supply chains.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
BCPs are designed to handle high volumes of imported SPS goods and offer extended opening hours with staff working shifts on site to carry out reliable checks which minimise friction on traffic flow.
The Government has worked with port and airport operators, traders, Port Health Authorities and APHA to make sure we have the right infrastructure, systems and resources in place.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on the language in which vets in EU nations must complete health certificates for goods imported into the UK under the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is for EU member states to translate our model health certificates into their own languages for use by their relevant competent authority staff including official veterinarians and plant health inspectors.
This is a requirement of Official Control Regulations (article 89) and will be understood by the certifying official veterinarian completing the certificate.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the basis on which the Common User Charge is levied will be set out in (a) regulations or (b) guidance.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Common User Charge will recover the full costs of operating the government-run BCP facilities in Sevington Kent, serving the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel in line with legislation: Article 79 to 85 of the retained Official Controls Regulations 2017; and in guidance as set out on GOV.UK at: Common user charge: rates and eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Border Target Operating Model, whether he has issued guidance to border control staff on the acceptable level of errors in a customs declaration for goods coming in to the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has worked closely with local authorities and port health authorities to develop an implementation plan for the BTOM. Guidance on new processes and how to approach enforcement has been provided to these competent authorities.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of checks that will be carried out on medium risk goods under the Border Target Operating Model at Sevington in May 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Estimates of the operational capacity of Sevington have been based on a throughput model that seeks to model the flow of goods into the site based on the volumes, seasonal trends, timetabling of ferries and operational assumptions around the number of bays in use, and the duration of inspections including marshalling time and cleaning.
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the exact inspection details from 30 April. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.
DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.
This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for issuing invoices for the Common User Charge for shipments entering the UK on 1 May 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The first invoices will be issued no sooner than 12 weeks after 30 April 2024 to give business time to prepare for paying the common user charge.
The first invoices will cover the period 30 April to 31 July inclusive, thereafter, invoices will be issued monthly.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the standard operating procedures for (a) processing and (b) transferring asylum seekers between the UK and Ireland.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In 2020, we agreed operational arrangements which allow for the return and readmission of asylum seekers where this is agreed by both participants. This is a non-legally binding arrangement relating to operational procedures, which we do not routinely publish.