§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what plans he has to improve surveillance of ports to intercept illegally imported meat; [160935]
(2) what steps he is taking to tackle the smuggling of illegal meat through British ports; [160933]
(3) if he will estimate the annual tonnage of illegal meat smuggled through British ports. [160906]
§ Ms QuinAs my right hon. Friend the Minister said in his statements of 27 March and 3 May, MAFF is co-ordinating action across Government to ensure that rules on both commercial and personal imports at ports and airports are enforced effectively. In addition, he has also asked the European Commission to give urgent attention to ensuring that the law on personal imports is clear and robust to enable consistent and effective controls across all the Community's borders. No assessment of the annual tonnage of illegal meat smuggled through British ports is available.