16
Accepted in Part
Border Force inadequately enforces personal import rules, lacking POAO understanding and focused teams.
Conclusion
Border Force is not adequately fulfilling its responsibility to enforce personal import rules relating to animal products; it has too many competing priorities and officers lack understanding of product of animal origin (POAO) rules and seizures. Border Force and port health authorities have shown that they can work well together in teams, but port health authorities are needlessly inhibited by a lack of powers and funding. Britain needs expert teams at the border with a single focus on animal products; these teams could target their operations based on POAO-specific intelligence and begin to address this crisis. (Conclusion, Paragraph 45)
Government Response Summary
The Government partially accepts this recommendation. They state that Port health authorities already have enforcement powers and they are not planning to extend these powers but that Defra and DPHA have resolved the immediate issue relating to the use of official veterinarians and Defra is content that DPHA should be able to determine how best to staff the service they provide. Defra is in active and positive discussions with DPHA regarding the provision of funding for financial year 2026/27, including consideration of an increase in funding.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Port health authorities already have enforcement powers under the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations (2011). As explained, we are currently not planning to extend these powers and the funding that is being provided to DPHA is in recognition of the unique circumstances at the Port of Dover. The Government partially accepts this recommendation. Defra and DPHA have resolved the immediate issue relating to the use of official veterinarians and Defra is content that DPHA should be able to determine how best to staff the service they provide, given their unique understanding of the availability of suitable staff locally. Defra is in active and positive discussions with DPHA regarding the provision of funding for financial year 2026/27, including consideration of an increase in funding beyond current levels in line with requests from the PHA. However, the Government cannot commit to a particular level of funding for future years in this response. Similarly, we cannot commit to an unbudgeted and immediate increase in DPHA funding for this financial year.
Source
Inquiry
Animal and plant health
Report
3rd report - Biosecurity at the border: Britain's illegal meat crisis
08 Sep 2025
HC 1296
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.7 yr
Report published
08 Sep 2025