§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the percentage of containers which were subjected to inspection at ports of entry as a proportion of(a) containers whose shippers declare them to contain food products and (b) containers overall in each of the last three years. [69620]
§ Mr. MorleyCommercial consignments declared as meat or most other products of animal origin from non EU countries must be pre notified to the Border Inspection Post of arrival and all are subject to documentary and identity checks. The minimum proportion subject to physical checks is set out in EU law and is dependent on the product—at least 20 per cent. in the case of beef, pork and lamb and at least 50 per cent. in the case of poultry, game and honey.
Consignments of other food products do not generally have to be pre-notified nor do they have to arrive at a Border Inspection Post but they must be accompanied by an accurate manifest. Checks on other food products are determined by the food safety risk associated with the product.
Checks are carried out on consignments rather than containers. The number of containers involved is not recorded as a consignment may consist of part of a container load or of one or more containers. The numbers of consignments of products of animal origin imported from non EU countries and submitted for veterinary checks in the last three years were as follows:
- 1999: 50,434
- 2000: 52,305
- 2001: 55,562.
§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her policy in relation to standards of animal hygiene and welfare in countries exporting meat to the United Kingdom. [69617]
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§ Mr. MorleyImports into the United Kingdom of animal products are governed by Community legislation, which protects both animal and public health. Under these rules only third countries approved by the Commission on the advice of the Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health may export into the Community, and only from establishments which meet Community hygiene standards. The lists of countries and establishments allowed to export particular products into the Community, are available on the Commission's website at the following address: http://forum.europa.eu.int/irc/sanco/ vets/info/data/listes/table0.html.
Responsibility for ensuring that third countries meet these requirements lies with the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) of the European Commission. FVO mission reports are published on their website at: http://europa.eu.int/ comm/food/fs/inspections/vikeports/index_en.html.
The Government have made clear the importance they attach to developing and maintaining high welfare standards for all animals both domestically and internationally.
§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the restrictions imposed and warnings given at ports and airports against the covert importing of meat. [69619]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is working closely with all the enforcement bodies and with stakeholders to ensure that we have the necessary controls in place to reduce the risk of illegal imports of meat and animal products entering the country.
An Action Plan of work for 2002–03 to reduce this risk is being implemented by the Department. Key elements of the plan include a risk assessment, a strengthening of the legal powers available to enforcement officers, and enhanced deterrence and detection alongside improved publicity for the issue.
On 8 July DEFRA launched a summer publicity campaign aimed at making the public more aware of the restrictions on importing meat and animal products for personal use from outside the EU and the reasons for these restrictions. Baseline research was commissioned to establish general awareness before the campaign and this will be followed up in the autumn to assess the effectiveness of this first stage of the publicity campaign. This campaign is just part of a longer term strategy to inform and educate the public on this matter.
§ Mr. RuffleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to discuss the introduction of a fixed penalty system applying to illegal imports carried as personal baggage. [69548]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government published an Action Plan in March that aims to reduce the risk of introducing animal and plant diseases entering the country. In carrying out this Action Plan the Government are investigating a variety of deterrents, taking into account the experience of other countries. One of the deterrents being considered is on-the-spot fines and initial discussions are being held with the enforcement agencies on the practicalities of such a deterrent, as well as with officials of other countries who have adopted this measure.
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Mr. RaneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has been involved in with regard to the proposals for harmonising the regulation and inspection of imports throughout the EU. [69547]
§ Mr. MorleyHarmonised EU rules are already in place for the control and inspection of imports from third countries of live animals and animal products.
The UK Government have been pressing the European Commission for clarification and strengthening of the rules on personal imports of meat and animal products throughout the EU since January 2001.
The Commission produced a draft regulation in June 2002 and following discussion with the UK and other member states this was redrafted, reflecting the concerns of the UK, among others. The new draft Commission Regulation is due to be voted on in September 2002.