‘Inadequate’: MPs criticise government’s plant import system

A House of Commons committee has taken aim at the animal and plant border controls designed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), marking the end of a formal inquiry.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee, which is Liberal Democrat-led but includes MPs from each of the three biggest parties, said the imports system is ‘inadequate’ as banned products cross the border unchecked.

Moreover, the MPs found that the failure to realise the previous government’s vision for controls is not just an operational issue, but it also poses a real threat to plant health and therefore the viability of the horticultural sector.

The findings build on concerns raised by BALI in a letter sent to Defra last year, namely unforeseen delays, insufficient communication, and damage to inspected goods, among other issues.

In response, the minister responsible for borders and plant health, Baroness Hayman of Ullock, said Defra would ‘monitor and review’ the impact of border controls and work with industry to ‘minimise disruption and costs to trade’.

Since then, the UK and EU have agreed to ‘work towards’ a so-called sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which promises to remove trade barriers such as border inspections and associated paperwork.

The EFRA committee says this work represents an opportunity for government to reset its relationship with domestic stakeholders as well as the EU but also points out the current border controls will remain in place until such an agreement is reached.

BALI will continue to monitor developments around the potential SPS agreement and keep an eye out for the official government response to the EFRA committee’s findings.