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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce time taken for (a) sanitary and (b) phytosanitary checks at border control posts for horticultural produce.

GB plant health services have increased the number of plant health inspection staff to service the demand for import checks in England and Wales of EU plants and plant products.

Inspector levels are being monitored to ensure these meet demand and deliver checks in line with set Service Level Agreements (SLA) and ensure minimal trade disruption.

BCPs are designed to handle high volumes of imported SPS goods with inspectors working shifts to carry out reliable checks which minimise friction on traffic flow. Checks at BCPs are handled by trained staff ensuring inspections are undertaken safely and efficiently.