Throughout our inquiry, we heard repeated and serious concerns about the functionality, integration, and reliability of the IT systems underpinning the UK’s border biosecurity regime. As enforcement relies on data, these concerns raise fundamental questions about the Government’s ability to deliver on its commitments under the BTOM. We welcome the Department’s efforts to review how data are recorded and analysed within port health authority and Defra IT systems and how these can be combined to create a reliable and complete data picture. We note that the Department is now working to pre-identify commodity codes for the top five notifiable diseases to enable faster updates in future. We are also encouraged by the improved response to subsequent FMD outbreaks in Slovakia and Hungary, where IPAFFS was updated immediately in line with policy changes, preventing goods from auto-clearing controls. This demonstrates that lessons are being learned but also underscores the need for a more resilient and responsive system from the outset. (Conclusion, Paragraph 19)