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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all local authorities in the UK have reported to HM Government that they are prepared and resourced to take on responsibility for food safety and phytosanitary checks as part of clearance processes at UK ports after March 2019; and if not, which have not so reported.

Defra is working with the Food Standards Agency to look at the future arrangements for sanitary checks on imports of animal products to the UK after March 2019. As part of this we are working with a range of stakeholders, including local authorities, which are responsible for carrying out some of these checks along with other delivery bodies.

The Government is working to get the best deal for Britain when leaving the EU and through our new relationship with the EU we are aiming to achieve the freest possible trade in goods and services between the UK and the EU. The precise nature of our future relationship with the EU is still to be determined and is the subject of negotiation. Discussion on the sanitary and phyto-sanitary conditions that will be applicable to trade in animal and plant products will form part of these negotiations. Negotiations between the UK and the EU have so far been limited to the withdrawal arrangements.