Statement from Anthony Baldock, Executive Chairperson of the Association of Port Health Authorities, in response to reports of a UK / EU Agreement on food and agricultural trade.

We welcome efforts to remove unnecessary trade friction and make it easier for businesses to trade with the EU. But removing a check does not remove the risk it was designed to manage.

The test of any new agreement is whether it delivers those benefits while maintaining effective protection for public health, animal and plant health, and the UK’s food supply.

This is a matter of national significance Defra’s own guidance makes clear that the agreement extends well beyond border paperwork into food law, official controls, animal and plant health, food standards, pesticides and biocides. Its implications need to be understood across the whole system.

The questions government needs to answer are straightforward: where does responsibility for assuring food safety move to, who pays for it, how do we detect problems, and what happens when something goes wrong?

If this protection and assurance moves away from the border, there must be clear responsibilities, effective surveillance and enforcement, and sufficient funding and expertise to make the new arrangements work to protect public health. Port Health Authorities have practical experience that should inform their development and implementation.

Government must also demonstrate that the projected savings are net savings, taking account of the full cost of the new system, rather than costs transferred to other public services or businesses.

It is also important to be clear about what the agreement will deliver. Sanitary and phytosanitary controls are only one part of the border. Customs and other requirements will remain.

Fewer certificates may be good news. Fewer safeguards would not be and we simply cannot allow the mistakes of the past to be revisited. Businesses and the public need confidence that simpler trading arrangements will be backed by a robust, properly funded system of protection.