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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on UK meat and dairy exporters of not prioritising perishable food at ports after the transition period.

Defra consulted with industry stakeholders on which commodities should be prioritised in the event of severe traffic disruption for those travelling via the Short Straits.

Three criteria were identified to inform that decision, two of which had to be met for prioritisation of any commodity to be agreed:

i) The goods are highly perishable and will lose most of or all their value within five days or less;

ii) The ‘perishable’ goods concerned are live animals and would give rise to animal welfare concerns if not moved in a timely manner and;

iii) The goods would give rise to a disproportionate economic impact on a geographical area of the UK.

Meat and dairy products did not meet two out of the three criteria set out above and were therefore not identified as prioritised commodities. We did consider whether a number of perishable commodities beyond those identified could be added to the list of those being prioritised. However, there is an additional capacity issue with respect to the numbers of vehicles and the overall traffic management in Kent, which if exceeded would put at risk the feasibility of the wider prioritisation contingency plan.

On the issue of prioritising goods at ports, the prioritisation contingency described above focuses on the journey to port within the Kent strategic road network, specifically the M20. Defra and other Government departments are working intensively with the relevant ports to minimise further delays at those locations.