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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk to food and animal product exporters of a decline in official veterinarian capacity delaying export health certification ahead of the removal of sanitary and phytosanitary checks.

The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates (EHC). The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking export certification, including the demand for EHC services. Defra isworking with the veterinary profession and wider industry stakeholders to monitor this capability and ensure an effective and well-managed transition.