Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential implications of the UK leaving the EU for quarantine measures for pests and disease of plant material.

Mr David Jones

I refer the Hon Member to the reply previously given on 25th October 2016, PQ UIN49488 by my hon Friend, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, George Eustice.

We recognise that the UK’s exit from the EU may have implications for the way in which current UK plant health services operate, including phytosanitary certification on imports, quarantine measures to mitigate the highest risk pests and diseases, and plant passporting.

We are considering the implications and possible options as part of our planning for, and negotiations on, the UK’s exit.

Continuing to deliver a risk-based, proportionate plant health regime that effectively protects the UK from plant pests and diseases, whilst maximising the free movement of goods, remains of the highest priority.