Draft Official Controls (Amendment) Regulations 2024

A House of Commons committee voted on 15 January 2025 to approve the Draft Official Controls (Amendment) Regulations 2024, passing by 423 ayes to 77 noes. The regulations replace temporary post-Brexit arrangements for checking imported food, animals and plants at the border with a permanent, risk-based system known as the border target operating model. The vote took place in a delegated legislation committee rather than the full chamber. The regulations create a long-term legislative framework for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls, governing how goods such as food, livestock and plant material are inspected when entering Great Britain from third countries. By moving away from temporary measures, the government aims to give businesses greater certainty while maintaining biosecurity protections against pests and diseases. The rules draw powers from the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and affect importers, food businesses, farmers and the wider supply chain. The Conservative opposition backed the regulations, citing continuity with work begun under the previous government, while Reform UK and the Democratic Unionist Party voted against. The DUP's objection centred on the inclusion of EU regulation 2017/625 in the framework, which they argued entrenches Northern Ireland's separate status under the Windsor Framework and undermines the UK's territorial integrity. The vote follows a pattern of similar delegated legislation on post-Brexit border and Windsor Framework arrangements, including a December 2024 vote on goods movement from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, which passed 375 to 9.