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Written question asked by Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru) on Friday, 3 November 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 November 2017. It was answered by Baroness Coffey (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 November 2017 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.


Trees: Imports

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2017 to Question 108716, on trees: imports, for what reasons the UK intercepts a higher proportion of harmful organisms than other EU countries.

Answer

Since 2014, we have invested in improving border security by recruiting new inspectors, enhancing training provision and facilitating closer working with Border Force. This additional investment has allowed the UK to increase its risk based inspections on goods which are not controlled at an EU level and therefore where mandatory inspections are not required. Uncontrolled trade inspections see relatively higher interception rates than inspections of controlled trades (15% vs 3%) and this data provides helpful intelligence and evidence to support new regulations and targeted monitoring.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
111333
Session
2017-19
Related items
Trees: Imports
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
EU countries Imports Trees
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk