Environment Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 20 June 2005.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will increase the resources available for detecting imports of illegal meat.
The Government have made available an additional £25 million over the three financial years from 2003–06 to tackle illegal imports from outside the European Union of any meat, other animal products and plant products. The majority of this funding is for additional resources to be deployed by Customs to detect illegal imports at the frontier. The current level of funding has been included in Customs' allocation for future years. Funding will also continue to be available for Defra to examine the risks and help increase public awareness, and for the FSA for work on inland controls.
Overall, the money for the illegal imports programme needs to be looked at in the context of the whole control regime including the legal trade. Funding has to be proportionate to risk. Our controls compare well with other EU member states.
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