Animal and plant diseases and pests have far-reaching impacts on the environment, agricultural and horticultural sectors, trade, human health, animal welfare, and the food that we eat.
The UK’s animal and plant biosecurity capability is in a period of significant change: the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s critical infrastructure – notably its Weybridge headquarters – is partway through a muti-billion pound transformation project, a new regime of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on goods from the EU is being implemented, and the UK is adapting to changed access to surveillance, people and skills. In this context, the Government has made ambitious animal welfare commitments and is seeking an SPS or veterinary agreement with the EU.
This inquiry will provide consistent scrutiny of ongoing and emerging issues and opportunities relating to animal and plant health. The Committee will call for evidence on a regular basis and produce iterative and focused reports throughout the inquiry.
Topics for scrutiny may include, but are not limited to:
- animal welfare;
- biosecurity at the border;
- implementation of the Border Target Operating Model;
- One Health approach to biosecurity;
- potential SPS agreement with the EU;
- skills and workforce planning in relevant professions (such as the veterinary sector);
- the impact of pests, diseases and biosecurity measures on farmers and the food supply chain;
- the resourcing and work of the Animal and Plant Health Agency;
- threats to UK forestry, including pests and diseases, and the risk of ecosystem collapse;
- threat-specific scrutiny, such as in response to an outbreak or an ongoing priority such as tackling antimicrobial resistance;
- UK Biological Security Strategy.
Read the ‘biosecurity at the border’ call for evidence here.