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
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 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 138 of the Border Target Operating Model, published in August 2023, whether restrictions will be placed on people bringing (a) animal and (b) plant products for food into the UK from the EU for personal use.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The BTOM sets out the policy design for import health controls on commercial consignments and the future regime for goods in personal possession is still being finalised.
We do not intend to prohibit personal imports altogether, and we will set out our new approach, which adopts the same principles of risk assessment and proportionality, in due course.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 21634 on Inland Border Facilities: Ashford, whether (a) the designation decision has been taken and (b) Sevington has been designated as a border control post.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The border control post at Sevington has now received its designation and began operation on 30 April.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 21012 on Import Controls: Fees and Charges, by what date he expects a decision on designating Sevington as a Border Control Post.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The border control post at Sevington has now received its designation and is ready to begin operation on 30 April.
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 steps his Department plans to take to help tackle hauliers moving consignments subject to the Border Target Operating Model who do not (a) pay the Common User Charge, (b) present for physical inspections at a Border Control Post when required and (c) provide the relevant health declarations.
Answered by Mark Spencer
On the Common User Charge, we will put in place measures to deter late payment and payment avoidance, including charges for late payment. We’ll publish further information on compliance measures before the first invoices are issued.”
Where the BCP has concerns, for example due to non-attendance, there are robust provisions in place to pursue the person responsible for the load. If it is not possible for the goods to proceed to the BCP, then the goods will be referred for inland controls by the local authority, enforceable through the data collected through customs declarations and pre-notification.
Vehicles suspected to be carrying illegal imports (e.g. those for which customs declarations and pre-notification have not been made or suspected to have been made in bad faith) will continue to be stopped and dealt with by Border Force at the point of entry to the 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, whether all consignments travelling from the EU to the UK on 1 May 2024 that are subject to the Border Target Operating Model, other than those coming through a privately-run Border Control Post, will be required to pay the Common User Charge.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The common user charge will apply to all eligible sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) imports at a public BCP, whether or not they are selected for a BCP inspection.
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 the operational hours for Sevington border control post are for the week commencing 6 May 2024; and whether the post will have the capacity to carry out inspections overnight.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Sevington IBF is intended to operate as a Border Control Post 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from 30th April. As such, and pending the designation decision, the site will conduct inspections overnight.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2024 to Question 19615 on Import Controls: Fees and Charges, if he will publish a list of all (a) Government-run and (b) privately-run border control posts.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Please see a full list of Border Control Posts (BCPs) at Animal and animal product imports: authorised border control posts in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Sevington is currently undergoing the designation process to become a BCP, and, if so designated, will be the only Government run BCP.
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 steps his Department is taking to help ensure that hauliers comply with requirements of the Border Target Operating Model to subject consignments to (a) physical and (b) documentary checks.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government has been promoting the key benefits and changes by sector and timeframe that traders in the EU and EFTA will need to be aware of and ready for. The Government has been hosting a series of events and engagements, as well as promoting translated communications assets to businesses across the EU to increase business readiness for these changes. We would encourage all traders within the supply chain to work together to be as ready as possible for these upcoming changes. We are monitoring sentiment across key trading partners to measure readiness and understanding, and are seeing positive trends.
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 his Department's The Border Target Operating Model: August 2003, published in August 2023, whether goods in all risk categories are required to pay the common user charge; and if this charge will vary depending on the risk level of the consignment.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels and will publish an update on the Common User Charge shortly. This will include the Government response to the consultation. Further information on the policy and rates will be included in the upcoming publication.