Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has for phytosanitary certification measures for the importation of plant material after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice

We recognise that the UK’s exit from the EU may have implications for the way in which current UK plant health services operate, including phytosanitary certification on imports, quarantine measures to mitigate the highest risk pests and diseases, and plant passporting.

We are considering the implications and possible options as part of our planning for, and negotiations on, the UK’s exit.

Continuing to deliver a risk-based, proportionate plant health regime that effectively protects the UK from plant pests and diseases, whilst maximising the free movement of goods, remains of the highest priority.