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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the UK from the import of (1) oak processionary moth, (2) emerald ash borer, and (3) Xylella fastidiosa.

The Government has established UK Preparedness Boards for both Xylella fastidiosa and the emerald ash borer (EAB), chaired by the Chief Plant Health Officer, to monitor and mitigate risks and to ensure a swift and effective response should either enter the UK.

On 21 April, Defra also introduced new national measures to impose more stringent import requirements to protect the UK from these threats.

For Xylella, the import of Coffea and Polygala myrtifolia species is now prohibited, due to a high disease rate in these species, and stronger import requirements have been introduced for other high-risk hosts including olive, almond, Nerium oleander, lavender and rosemary.

For the EAB, there are stronger controls on countries within 100km of confirmed outbreak areas. This includes the removal of an option in EU legislation to remove the bark and sapwood to a depth of 2.5cm for all countries regulated for EAB.

In relation to oak processionary moth (OPM), restrictions on oak tree imports were tightened in 2019, so that imports of all oaks from outside Europe are prohibited and the import of large oaks (which are susceptible to OPM) from Europe is prohibited, unless they originate in a pest-free area or a country where OPM is not known to occur, or have been grown under physical protection throughout their life.