Animal and plant health

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 9 Jan 2025 Parliament page
Animal and plant diseases and pests have far-reaching impacts on the environment, agricultural and horticultural sectors, trade, human health, animal welfare, and the food that we eat. The UK’s animal and plant biosecurity capability is in a period of significant change: the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s critical infrastructure – … Read more
58 Recommendations
37 Conclusions
3 Reports
7 Oral sessions
47 Letters
7 Events
Activity timeline 67 events
19 May
2026
Correspondence
28 Apr
2026
Correspondence
17 Apr
2026
Report published
14 Apr
2026
Correspondence
14 Apr
2026
Correspondence
24 Mar
2026
Correspondence
24 Mar
2026
Correspondence
17 Mar
2026
Oral evidence
17 Mar
2026
Correspondence
17 Mar
2026
Correspondence
17 Mar
2026
Correspondence
17 Mar
2026
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 7 sessions
17 Mar 2026
View on parliament.uk
EFRA Committee
Dr Rob Williams · British Veterinary Association Professor Caroline Argo · SRUC Veterinary School Professor Matt Jones · Harper and Keele Veterinary School Professor Tim Parkin · Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
9 Dec 2025
View on parliament.uk
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Baroness Hayman of Ullock · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Dr Christine Middlemiss CB · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Mark Thompson · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Professor Nicola Spence CBE · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
21 Oct 2025
View on parliament.uk
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Geoff Ogle · Food Standards Scotland (FSS) Katie Pettifer · Food Standards Agency (FSA)
6 May 2025
View on parliament.uk
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Gareth Baynham-Hughes · Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Spencer Draper · Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs The Baroness Hayman of Ullock · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
25 Mar 2025
View on parliament.uk
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Katrina Walsh · International Meat Trade Association Nichola Mallon · Logistics UK Nigel Jenney · Fresh Produce Consortium Sally Cullimore · Horticultural Trades Association (HTA)
4 Mar 2025
View on parliament.uk
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Dr Christine Middlemiss · Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Dr Jenny Stewart · Animal and Plant Health Agency Dr Jude McCann · Farming Community Network Lizzie Wilson · National Pig Association Richard Griffiths · British Poultry Council Sarah Tomlinson · TB Advisory Service
4 Feb 2025
View on parliament.uk
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
David Smith · Border Force Helen Buckingham · OneResolution Lucy Manzano · Dover Port Health Authority
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
6 Conclusion Deferred
3rd report - Biosecurity at the bo…
Defra's approach to EU personal imports has been lax, reactive, and complicated.
Under successive governments, Defra’s approach to personal imports from the EU since 2021 has been unnecessarily lax, too reactive and overly complicated. Temporary personal import rules create confusion for travellers, uncertainty for farmers, and difficulty for enforcement professionals. (Conclusion, Paragraph … Read more
Government Response
The government states it has deferred permanent personal import rules from the EU until January 2027 and currently has no plans to consult on a permanent policy. It notes existing temporary safeguard measures are in place to address biosecurity risks.
View details
12 Conclusion Deferred
4th Report - UK-EU trade: towards …
Government's practical implementation strategy for EU biosecurity Common Understanding remains unclear.
The Common Understanding with the EU presents a positive and welcome opportunity to bolster UK biosecurity and we praise the Government for its work in this regard. It remains unclear, however, how the Government sees the new arrangements working in … Read more
Government Response
The government states that formal negotiations with the EU for the SPS Agreement have not yet commenced, making it impossible to provide confirmation or a cost-benefit analysis at this stage. They expect negotiations to start later in the autumn and will carefully consider options during negotiations.
View details
13 Recommendation Deferred
4th Report - UK-EU trade: towards …
Set out strategic objectives for shared EU-UK digital border biosecurity systems, clarifying IPAFFS adoption.
In response to this Report, the Government should set out its strategic objectives for shared EU–UK digital systems in the context of border biosecurity. Specifically, it should clarify whether IPAFFS will be retired in favour of adopting TRACES NT, or … Read more
Government Response
The government defers action on setting out strategic objectives, clarifying system adoption, outlining contingency plans, or publishing comparative analysis, as formal EU negotiations have not yet commenced.
View details
17 Recommendation Deferred
4th Report - UK-EU trade: towards …
Provide analysis of Single Trade Window delays and outline renewed implementation timeline and costs.
Future border systems must prioritise ease of use, interoperability, and support for trade growth. In its response to this Report, the Department should provide an analysis of the reasons for the Single Trade Window’s delay. It should also outline the … Read more
Government Response
The government states that the Single Trade Window Programme is not led by Defra, and therefore, this response is not the appropriate place to provide an analysis of delays or a future roadmap.
View details
40 Recommendation Deferred
5th Report - UK-EU agritrade: maki…
Publish plans for parliamentary scrutiny of dynamic alignment and Parliament's future role.
We believe that our remit and responsibilities make this Committee the most appropriate body for scrutiny of SPS policy. We are therefore disappointed that the Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations refused to appear before us. We echo … Read more
Government Response
The government will bring forward primary legislation to allow Defra to implement the SPS Agreement, dependent on the progress of negotiations and will set out more specific details as they progress.
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 95 of 58 classified
Accepted 21
Accepted in Part 31
Acknowledged 28
Deferred 5
Rejected 10
Total 58 recs + 37 conclusions
Correspondence 47 letters
19 May 2026 Correspondence from the Agricultural Engineers Association regarding Silsoe Spray Applications, dated 30 April 2026
Parliament page
28 Apr 2026 Correspondence from Association of Port Health Authorities to the Chair relating to UK-EU SPS agreement, dated 21 April 2026
Parliament page
14 Apr 2026 Correspondence from the Chair of the Animal Sentience Committee relating to the Animal Welfare Strategy, dated 23 March 2026
Parliament page
14 Apr 2026 Correspondence from the Ashford Borough Council Corporate Director for Port Health and Public Protection regarding Sevington BCP and UK-EU SPS negotiations, dated 1st April 2026
Parliament page
24 Mar 2026 Correspondence from Marsha De Cordova MP in her capacity as Leader and Co-Chair of the UK Delegation to the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly on the Seventh Plenary Session, dated 20 March 2026
Parliament page
24 Mar 2026 Correspondence from the Animal Sentience Committee regarding their two new reports on the restrictions of lead in ammunition and the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022, dated 13 March 2026
Parliament page
17 Mar 2026 Correspondence from the Dogs Trust regarding changes to the Companion Club, date 12 March 2026
Parliament page
17 Mar 2026 Correspondence from Paul Kissack, Permanent Secretary, Defra, re update on Defra's engagement on Home Office visa concession for sheep shearers, dated 10 March 2026
Parliament page
17 Mar 2026 Correspondence from Baroness Hayman, Minister for Biosecurity, Borders and Animal Welfare, regarding SPS update, dated 9 March 2026
Parliament page
17 Mar 2026 Correspondence to Ashford Port Health Authority relating to non-attendance of commercial consignments at Sevington BCP, dated 17 March 2026
Parliament page
13 Feb 2026 Correspondence from Michael Seals, Animal Sentience Committee regarding having written a letter setting out the Committee’s opinion on the impacts of definitions of animals in law, 4 February
Parliament page
28 Jan 2026 Correspondence from Baroness Hayman, Minister for Biosecurity, Borders and Animals, re Defra’s attitude tracker and its insight into awareness of rules for personal imports of meat and dairy products, dated 19 January 2026
Parliament page
28 Jan 2026 Correspondence from Baroness Hayman, Minister for Biosecurity, Borders and Animals, regarding Defra’s attitude tracker and the predicted timelines for Veterinary Surgeons Act reform (following evidence session on 9 December), dated January 2026
Parliament page
13 Jan 2026 Correspondence from Michael Seals, Chair of the Animal Sentience Committee, regarding their stance on the recent policy paper: Replacing animals in science, dated 18 December 2025
Parliament page
13 Jan 2026 Correspondence from Ann Cuthbert regarding systemic regulatory failure in the oversight of intensive livestock operations, dated December 2025
Parliament page
13 Jan 2026 Correspondence to the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee relating to the work of the Cabinet Office, dated 8 January 2026
Parliament page
16 Dec 2025 Correspondence from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland following evidence session on 21 October 2025, dated 9 December 2025
Parliament page
16 Dec 2025 Correspondence to Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State following the hearing on 9 December, dated 16 December 2025
Parliament page
9 Dec 2025 Correspondence from the Freight Liaison Group (FLG) in response to the Government response on illegal meat imports and UK border resilience, dated 27 November 2025
Parliament page
18 Nov 2025 Correspondence from Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, regarding an announcement on replacing animals in science, dated 11 November 2025
Parliament page
4 Nov 2025 Correspondence to the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland following the evidence session on 21 October, dated 4 November 2025
Parliament page
21 Oct 2025 Correspondence from the Animal Sentience Committee regarding its report on Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, dated 13 October 2025
Parliament page
21 Oct 2025 Correspondence from Seema Malhotra MP, PUSS, FCDO regarding the Introduction of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Bill, dated 10 September 2025
Parliament page
21 Oct 2025 Correspondence from the Freight Liaison Group in response to the recently published reports into illegal meat imports and UK border resilience, dated 15 September 2025
Parliament page
21 Oct 2025 Correspondence from the Animal Sentience Committee regarding its report on Dogs (Protection of Livestock)(Amendment) Bill, dated 13 October 2025
Parliament page
9 Sep 2025 Correspondence from Food Standards Scotland on the SPS Vet Agreement, dated 18 July 2025
Parliament page
2 Sep 2025 Correspondence from the Animal Sentience Committee regarding animal welfare labelling, dated 22 July 2025
Parliament page
8 Jul 2025 Correspondence from the Chair of the Food Standards Agency about Our Food 2024, dated 19 June 2025
Parliament page
8 Jul 2025 Correspondence from the Animal Sentience Committee on planning policy reform, dated 24 June 2025
Parliament page
18 Jun 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding biosecurity at the border, dated 6 June 2025
Parliament page
18 Jun 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding UK-EU SPS Agreement, dated 4 June 2025
Parliament page
10 Jun 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding the Marking of Retail Goods Regulations 2025, dated 5 June 2025,
Parliament page
10 Jun 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding biosecurity at the border, dated 5 June 2025
Parliament page
20 May 2025 Correspondence to the Minister for Biosecurity regarding biosecurity at the border, dated 20 May 2025
Parliament page
6 May 2025 Correspondence from Dover Port Health Authority regarding foot and mouth disease, dated 30 April 2025
Parliament page
6 May 2025 Correspondence from the Chief Veterinary Officer and Interim Chief Executive of the APHA regarding oral evidence on 4 March, dated 2 May 2025
Parliament page
1 Apr 2025 Correspondence from Radoslav Stankov, Official Veterinarian, Dover Port Health Authority, regarding foot and mouth disease controls, dated 16 March 2025
Parliament page
1 Apr 2025 correspondence from Lucy Manzano, Head of Public Protection and Port Health, Dover Port Health Authority, regarding the Committee's visit to the Short Straits border, dated 21 March 2025
Parliament page
25 Mar 2025 Correspondence from 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 21 March 2025
Parliament page
25 Mar 2025 Correspondence from CPC Foods relating to the ban on German pork meat imports, dated 12 March 2025
Parliament page
11 Mar 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
Parliament page
4 Mar 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding the National Biosecurity Centre, Weybridge, dated 24 February 2025
Parliament page
4 Mar 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding biosecurity at the border, dated 24 February 2025
Parliament page
4 Mar 2025 Correspondence from the Animal Sentience Committee regarding its report on legislative compliance and enforcement of animal welfare legislation, dated 25 February 2025
Parliament page
25 Feb 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, regarding Government Response to the Animal Sentience Committee's Report on the Online Safety Act, dated 12 February 2025
Parliament page
11 Feb 2025 Correspondence to the Minister for Biosecurity relating to biosecurity at the border, dated 11 February 2025
Parliament page
11 Feb 2025 Correspondence from the Minister for Biosecurity regarding redevelopment of the Animal and Plant Health Agency Facility at Weybridge, dated January 2025
Parliament page