Animal Products: Import Controls

(asked on 20th July 2023) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of vets available to carry out veterinary checks on the imports of animal products arriving in the UK.


Answered by
Mark Spencer Portrait
Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 4th September 2023

GB Border Control Point (BCP) operators are required to provide sufficient on-site staff, including Official Veterinarians where necessary, to carry out required import checks. BCP designations are only granted where there is evidence that vet capacity will meet demand. BCPs are also regularly audited by the Animal and Plant Health Agency to ensure they continue to have the correct levels of staffing to deliver import controls on products of animal origin.

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