Written question asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative) on Friday, 30 November 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 11 December 2001. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 December 2001 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures she has taken to tighten security at (a) airports and (b) sea ports to ensure that illegal meat is not smuggled into the UK.

Answer: Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she has taken to tighten security at (a) airports and (b) sea ports to ensure that illegal meat is not smuggled into the UK. [20778] Mr. Morley: Checks on meat imported at airports and sea ports is the responsibility of the local authority in which the port or sea port is situated. DEFRA officials are co-ordinating a number of initiatives, involving interested Government Departments and local authority enforcement bodies, aimed at ensuring that rules for importing animal products are enforced effectively and efficiently. We have taken action to improve publicity to travellers about import rules, to improve the collection and analysis of information about illegal imports and to use that information to better target enforcement activity. We are keeping these measures under constant review and we are looking at a wide range of other options for improvements, including, for example, the use of sniffer dogs, X-ray machines, on-the-spot-fines and changes to administrative structures.

Secondary information