Business as usual for Ashford Port Health; team continue to keep the UK safe

The outline deal between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) is expected to remove the need for some of the checks currently carried out by Port Health authority staff at Border Control Posts (BCP) across the UK.

However, no final decisions have been made on the future scope of operation of Border Control Posts with the UK and the EU still to negotiate on final terms. This process is expected to several months to complete. 

Until then it is business as usual for checks on commercial imports of freight at the Inland Border Facility at Sevington, Ashford in Kent.

Anthony Baldock, Corporate Director of Health and Wellbeing with overall responsibility for port health controls at the Ashford Border Control Post (BCP), said: “I am proud of the hard work that staff at Ashford Port Health have put in 365 days a week, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day since their work began in April 2024.

"It is not only the busiest BCP in the UK with more than 14,000 consignments of meat and dairy products inspected since January, but also one of the three best performing. Thanks to the vigilance of our vets, environmental health staff and other members of the team, working in partnership with a number of other agencies, some 66,032 kilos of illegal meat have been seized and destroyed since November 2024. 

 “The deal announced between the UK and the European Union to improve the flow of cross-border trade will ultimately mean fewer checks on food leaving and coming into the country. However, for the moment, it is business as usual, and we continue to receive commercial freight from Europe through the Port of Dover and Le Shuttle until further notice.

 “It has yet to be confirmed what impact any changes to operations will have on the work of Ashford Port Health Authority within the Inland Border Facility at Sevington – or the 158 people currently employed there.

“We await details of final arrangements by the Government concerning Border Control Posts across the UK and how that will impact operations on this site. In the meantime, we remain entirely focused on protecting the public and securing the UK food chain.”