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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the preparedness of Border Control Posts for the import inspection of horticulture products.

Since 1 January, high-risk plants have been inspected at their places of destination. Defra is confident that the Border Control Posts (BCPs) will be ready to start physical inspections of high-risk plants and plant products when the new regime of checks commences on 1 January 2022. The BCPs will be ready to start physical inspections of low-risk plants and plant product checks from March 2022.

Defra continues to work directly with ports and airports to prepare the necessary infrastructure, staff and IT systems for SPS checks to be completed. We continue to monitor port BCP delivery and will support ports to achieve an initial operating capability as import controls are phased in.

The phased implementation reduces risk of BCP infrastructure not being ready and provides Port Health Authorities, importers, hauliers, exporters and their agents, sufficient time to prepare and familiarise themselves with these new requirements.