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 19 March 2024 to Question 18133 on Import Controls, what standards goods will be required to demonstrate they meet via an export health certificate in order to be eligible for import into the UK.

Specific requirements will vary by commodity, with details available on the Gov.uk pages for certification Import goods into the UK: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The BTOM will operate a sophisticated approach to risk categorisation, with the intensity of controls calibrated to the level of risk presented by each commodity.

For high-risk and medium-risk goods, we will retain health certification and BCP inspection, albeit with frequently lower inspection rates than under the EU model. Documentary-only checks will be performed remotely instead of all regulated goods having to present documents at a BCP.

For low-risk animal products as a matter of routine we will only require electronic pre-notification, which is already in place. Low-risk plant produce (fruit and vegetables with no known specific disease or pest risk associated) will be removed from import health control requirements altogether. There will no longer be any requirements for pre-notification, with enhanced inland monitoring and surveillance in place to ensure it is compliant with the UK's high food safety and standards and to keep track of any issues. We will simplify Export Health Certificates and make health certificates digital wherever possible.

For medium-risk goods, we will extend the well-established concept of trusted trader into the SPS sphere, by working with industry to pilot new trusted trader authorisations for SPS goods.