Committee publication · Correspondence · 11 March 2025
Correspondence to the Minister for Biosecurity, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, relating to foot and mouth disease controls and funding for Dover Port Health Authority, dated 11 March 2025
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Animal and plant health
Summary
Correspondence from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee to the Minister for Biosecurity regarding foot and mouth disease controls and funding for Dover Port Health Authority. The Committee addresses delays in import control system updates (IPAFFS), gaps in detection of non-compliant consignments, and the Chief Veterinary Officer's limited awareness of enforcement actions during the January 2025 FMD incident response.
Key findings
- IPAFFS system changes mandating 100% inspection on relevant commodities were loaded 16 January, but timeline for full system update from 10 January policy change is unclear
- Multiple instances documented of consignments bypassing port controls and entering GB without proper inspection, with some goods entering before IPAFFS rule changes
- Chief Veterinary Officer stated she did not know when IPAFFS was updated and was unaware of reports that consignments were bypassing controls
- Port Health Authorities manually checked common health entry documents (CHEDs) and held consignments from 10 January onwards, but enforcement of goods that entered pre-update remains unclear
- APHA, Food Standards Agency and local authorities conducting removal of prohibited products, but Chief Vet provided no further detail on action taken
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Helen Buckingham, Chief Veterinary Officer, Port Health Authorities (PHAs), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Food Standards Agency, Dover Port Health Authority
Notable line
“I was not aware of reports that some consignments were bypassing controls.”
Key Quotes
“… she did not know when IPAFFS was updated to reflect the policy change made on 10 January anct I was not aware of reports that some consignments were bypassing controls.”
“… work is being conducted by the APHA, Food Standards Agency and local authorities; she had "no further detail"”
“… from the point of being informed of rule changes on 10 January, PHAs were manually checking common health entry documents (CHEDs) and holding relevant consignments at BCPs.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗