Member

The noble Baroness, Lady Suttie, also asked whether checks could be missed with the new system. Just to confirm, consignments that are called into Sevington border control post for an inspection will have completed the necessary customs declarations and pre-notifications and will not be legally cleared for sale or use within the UK until they have been checked and cleared by the BCP. If, however, the importers fail to attend, the port health staff will commence any necessary action. Any placing of goods on the market will be illegal and the relevant local authority is then able to take the appropriate action—for example, it can recall the item from sale and potentially take legal action. The risk of any legitimate commercial loads not attending Sevington border control post is mitigated by robust, data-backed enforcement options. To further mitigate any animal disease risks, it is illegal in the UK to feed catering or domestic food waste to livestock, including pigs. However, we are aware that that is a possibility, and we are looking at it very carefully to ensure that it is not going to become a problem.