Written question asked by Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 30 June 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 July 2021 (named day). It was answered by Penny Mordaunt (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 July 2021 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Ports: EU Countries

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds from the European Commission on the average number of weekly checks which being undertaken at EU ports compared to the number of similar weekly checks at Belfast port.

Answer: This information is not held by the UK Government. However, as indicated by the Chief Veterinary Officer for Northern Ireland, on the 15 April 2021 in the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Northern Ireland Executive has estimated that from January to March, the number of entry documents for products of animal origin, germinal products, and animal by-products (CHED-Ps) processed in Northern Ireland represented approximately 20% of the EU total. This is more than any single EU Member State - even though the population of Northern Ireland is just 0.5% of that of the EU as a whole.

Secondary information