MPs have expressed 'deep concern' about the effectiveness of the government’s measures for protecting biosecurity as it introduces new import checks.
The cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has written to Defra as the new GB border regime comes into effect.
MPs who sit on the committee say they remain supportive of the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).
However, their letter raises two issues, with the first being Defra’s planned funding cuts for spot checks for products of animal origin (POAO) at the Port of Dover.
The second issue is the location of the new facility for physical checks at the Dover border crossing, at Sevington – 22 miles away from the point of entry at Dover.
Dover Port Health Authority and Border Force are currently confiscating large amounts of illegal meat, smuggled into Britain via the Port of Dover.
Since September 2022, when checks were introduced, 60 tonnes of illegal pork have been seized, and 5.5. tonnes of illegal meat were confiscated over the weekend before Christmas alone.
The National Pig Association (NPA) called the revelations 'catastrophic’ for the UK pig sector, with the Dover Port Health Authority saying it was "the tip of the iceberg and these controls need to be bolstered, not reduced."
Meat which is being brought into Britain illegally poses significant potential risks to domestic biosecurity, in light of the devastating impacts of African swine fever and foot and mouth disease.
However, Defra funding for these spot checks at the Port of Dover will soon be reduced by around 70 percent.
EFRA's letter echoed the pig sector and Dover Port Health Authority’s comments that funding cuts will have a "catastrophic effect" on UK biosecurity.
Dover Port Health Authority has publicly called upon the government to abandon its plans to cut the budget for POAO spot checks.
In EFRA's letter, it asks Defra for confirmation of "the current amount of funding in place for spot checks of POAO at the Port of Dover and whether [they] have plans to change that funding."
The letter goes on to ask what assessment the department has made of the potential impact of a reduction in funding on checks on the UK’s biosecurity.
Another major cause for concern to the committee is the new border control post coming into operation at Sevington, 22 miles from the point of entry at Dover.
The letter raises the issue that the border control post at Sevington will require vehicles to travel 22 miles unsupervised across Kent, presenting potentially serious biosecurity risks, and also compromising compliance.
EFRA have "real and reasonable concerns about the geographic dislocation of the border control post from the point of entry".
Its letter asks Defra to confirm what "safeguards will be in place to ensure the required loads travel from the point of entry (Port of Dover) to the Sevington site (22 miles away), without either offloading goods on route or not presenting at Sevington at all."
The committee asks for Defra's "rationale for persisting with the plans to open the Sevington inland border facility despite stakeholder concerns."
