Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of consignments containing only medium or low-risk goods which were required to pay the Common User Charge entering the UK from the EU were subject to a physical inspection under the Border Target Operating Model between 30 April and 5 May 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the exact inspection details from 30 April. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.
DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.
This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of inspection fees on food from (a) Eastern Europe and (b) other countries under the Border Target Operating Model on the cost of food.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our analysis has shown a minimal impact on food prices and consumers. Our new risk-based model has been designed to minimise costs for traders and consumers. Government analysis estimates the cost of the new model to be £330m per annum overall, across all EU imports. Traders will save around £520m per annum versus the model originally proposed, while the inflationary impacts on food for consumers will be, at most, less than 0.2 percentage points over a 3-year period.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff will be assigned to (a) monitor and enforce the restrictions introduced under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) and (b) carry out the administration of the BTOM, expressed as (i) full-time equivalent numbers and (ii) headcount.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Monitoring and enforcing the border controls introduced under the BTOM is undertaken collaboratively on a site by site basis at each point of entry between Defra, Port Health Authorities (part of local authorities), the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Border Force and HMRC, and the Port Operators.
The department considers that this information is operationally - and in the case of Port Operators commercially - sensitive and should be withheld.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many recorded incidents of disease were connected to imports from the EU of (a) gypsophila, (b) solidago, (c) orchids, (d) dianthus and (e) chrysanthemum between 2020 and 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
During 2020 – 2023 there were no findings of disease on cut flowers of the stated genera from the EU. Please note that import physical checks on cut flowers from the EU were not required during this time.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Border Target Operating Model, if he will establish a (a) complaints and (b) appeals process for importers who feel they have been charged a higher sum under the Common User Charge than they are liable for.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Businesses who must pay the Common User Charge will be guided by appropriate advice and support.
Shared Services Connected Ltd. (SSCL) will issue invoices on behalf of Defra. As part of their service, SSCL will be the first point of contact for any invoice related queries, including where a customer has a query about the amount they have been charged. SSCL also have an established complaints procedure. SSCL’s contact details will be provided on the invoices. Where required, SSCL can escalate queries, issues and complaints to a dedicated team within Defra for further consideration, investigation and resolution.
In addition, where a customer is not satisfied with any aspect of the service, they can follow Defra’s standard complaints procedure, as detailed in the CUC terms and conditions.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 12 March 2024 to Question 13303 on Import Controls: Disease Control, when he will publish an economic impact assessment of the legislative measures required to introduce the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Analysis has been and will continue to be produced for statutory instruments in accordance with the Better Regulation Framework.
An Impact Assessment was produced for The Official Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024 and was published on 22 April on legislation.gov.uk.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of consignments containing high-risk goods which were required to pay the Common User Charge entering the UK from the EU were subject to a physical inspection under the Border Target Operating Model between 30 April and 5 May 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the exact inspection details from 30 April. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.
DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.
This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Border Target Operating Model, whether he has issued guidance to border control staff on the acceptable level of errors in a customs declaration for goods coming in to the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has worked closely with local authorities and port health authorities to develop an implementation plan for the BTOM. Guidance on new processes and how to approach enforcement has been provided to these competent authorities.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the impact of current operating hours of privately-run Border Control Posts on just-in-time supply chains.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
BCPs are designed to handle high volumes of imported SPS goods and offer extended opening hours with staff working shifts on site to carry out reliable checks which minimise friction on traffic flow.
The Government has worked with port and airport operators, traders, Port Health Authorities and APHA to make sure we have the right infrastructure, systems and resources in place.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the basis on which the Common User Charge is levied will be set out in (a) regulations or (b) guidance.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Common User Charge will recover the full costs of operating the government-run BCP facilities in Sevington Kent, serving the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel in line with legislation: Article 79 to 85 of the retained Official Controls Regulations 2017; and in guidance as set out on GOV.UK at: Common user charge: rates and eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).