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1399977

registered interest
date	05/01/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Plants: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce red tape for the importing of ornamental plants and trees; and if he will introduce a trusted trader scheme for that sector.
tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
tabling member printed	Kevin Hollinrake
uin	98342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>Great Britain's (GB) plant health regime is risk-based, and the history of compliance of specific trades (where the ‘trade’ is the combination of a specific commodity from a specific origin), is a significant factor in determining biosecurity risk. Consequently, trades with a proven track record of compliance and meeting prescribed eligibility criteria may be subject to a reduced frequency and/or intensity of checks. While the biosecurity risk of imported goods is largely <em>trade </em>based, there are areas where <em>trader</em> considerations may also play a role. For example, as the phased introduction of EU-GB plant health import controls is completed in 2022, Defra is enabling the performance of plant health controls away from the border, including through increased uptake in the use of designated plant health Control Points. Eligibility criteria to be designated as a Control Point include elements consistent with a trusted trader model.</p><p> </p><p>Defra officials are actively exploring with stakeholders other options for minimising the regulatory burden on individual traders in a way which maintains the high biosecurity standards the United Kingdom enjoys.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 17/01/2022 15:34:34 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake

1342254

registered interest
date	30/06/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Plants: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the ornamental horticulture industry on the effect of fees for the inspection of plant and tree imports from the EU on that industry.
tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
tabling member printed	Kevin Hollinrake
uin	25066
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2021 answer text <p>Defra took the decision to delay the introduction of fees for import checks of high-priority plants from the EU for 5 months to give businesses more time to prepare and adjust to the new charging arrangements. This has enabled an accurate calculation of the fees and allowed businesses more time to successfully implement the change. During this time, Defra communicated extensively with industry and stakeholder groups to ensure they were prepared for the new fees coming in.</p><p> </p><p>The methodology used to calculate fees for plant health services was agreed with trade following a fees review and consultation in 2017.</p><p> </p><p>It has long been UK Government policy to charge for many publicly provided goods and services. The standard approach is to set fees to recover the full costs of service delivery. This relieves the general taxpayer of costs, so that they are properly borne by users who benefit from a service. This allows for a more equitable distribution of public resources and enables lower public expenditure and borrowing. Defra plant health services operate in line with that principle and have done for many years. Plant health fees are reviewed regularly and adjusted to ensure no under, or over, recovery of costs and amended as necessary.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 09/07/2021 14:40:37 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake

1334068

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Plants: Imports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in EU member states to build competence and trust in respective phytosanitary processes with the aim of establishing inspections at points of embarkation for plant and tree imports.
tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
tabling member printed	Kevin Hollinrake
uin	15319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>Defra officials have been looking at a wide range or measures to make the import of plants and trees as efficient as possible, without compromising our high biosecurity standards. There is regular dialogue between our plant health services and those of our key trading partners in the EU, including on e-certification most recently, which will streamline the exchange of phytosanitary certificates for the benefit of businesses and regulators alike.</p><p> </p><p>As to checks at point of embarkation, there are legal limitations with locating GB officials in a different jurisdiction to perform statutory functions, and whilst internationally there are precedents for locating inspectors in other countries, these staff typically perform an audit and assurance role rather than performing pre-import checks. Consequently, we are not actively pursuing this option with trading partners now, but Defra officials will continue to work with stakeholder organisations and those that import regulated plants and plant products from the EU to ensure GB plant health controls work as effectively and efficiently as possible.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 22/06/2021 14:23:42 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake