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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department has allocated to accelerate the development of a digital system for processsing Export Health Certificates; when that system will be fully operational.

The digital system known as Export Health Certificate (EHC) Online will be available on gov.uk and allow exporters to complete and submit an online application for an EHC.

EHC Online will provide a better user experience, automate processes and reduce running costs for the Government.

The technology build is well developed and we are starting to test the system with stakeholders and users. EHC Online will be fully operational by the end of 2019 and we will be rolling this out to exporters, certifiers etc. in a phased way, sector by sector in early 2020.

In fiscal year (FY) 18/19, £7.05 million was invested into the EHC Online system and in FY 19/20 a further £5.31 million has been spent to date. In September, we were allocated approximately £3.15 million of additional funding to support the development of the digital system for processing Export Health Certificates from the Operational Contingency Fund. Until EHC Online is delivered exporters will continue to follow the existing process on gov.uk.