Draft Official Controls (Amendment) Regulations 2024

What happened: The House of Commons voted on 15 January 2025 to approve the Draft Official Controls (Amendment) Regulations 2024, passing the motion by 423 votes to 77. The regulations update the legal framework governing how official checks are carried out on food, animal feed, and agricultural goods crossing UK borders, as part of the ongoing process of adapting UK law to its post-Brexit circumstances.

Why it matters: These regulations form part of the continuing work to establish a stable and functioning border control regime for food and agricultural imports following the UK's departure from the European Union. Official controls are the inspections, certifications, and checks that ensure products entering or leaving the country meet food safety and animal health standards. Updating this framework affects food businesses, importers, exporters, and ultimately consumers who depend on those standards being maintained. The regulations sit within a broader set of post-Brexit legislative adjustments that determine how the UK manages its own standards independently of EU rules.

The politics: The vote divided largely along party lines. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, and the Greens all voted in favour, reflecting a cross-party coalition supporting the government's approach. The Conservatives voted almost unanimously against, with 62 of their MPs opposing and only one voting with the government, while Reform UK and the Democratic Unionist Party also voted no. The DUP's opposition is consistent with its longstanding concerns about post-Brexit border arrangements, particularly those touching on Northern Ireland. The scale of the government's majority meant the outcome was never seriously in doubt.