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Since 1st January 2021 the United Kingdom has operated a full, external border as a sovereign nation
Plant health update: An explanation of post-Brexit arrangements Written by Owen Baker Technical Officer (Policy & Research)
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ince 1st January 2021 the United Kingdom has operated a full, external border as a sovereign nation. New controls have been placed on the movement of goods between the EU and UK, and all UK businesses involved in the movement of plant material were advised to review their working practices.
Also from the 1st January 2021, imports into the UK from the EU which previously arrived with an EUformat Plant Passport now require a phytosanitary certificate upon departure from the EU. Phytosanitary certificates are issued by the plant health authority in the country where a supplier is based. Border Control Posts (BCP) are being built, and plant health inspectors recruited throughout Great Britain (GB), with the aim
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LANDSCAPE NEWS SUMMER 2021
of performing physical checks on regulated goods - which include all plants for planting - upon entry into GB from January 2022.
BCPs will be positioned throughout England, Wales and Scotland, meaning once physical checks have been performed and material cleared, goods can be transported throughout GB.
From 1st January 2022 physical and identity checks of high priority plants and plant products will no longer be permitted at Places of Destination (PoD) and instead moved to BCPs. The requirement for pre-notification and phytosanitary certificates will be extended to all regulated plants and plant products (i.e., not just those which are ‘high-priority’). From 1st March 2022, the UK’s Border Operating Model will be fully
operational, with physical and identity checks on all regulated plants and plant products carried out at BPCs. Until BCPs are fully commissioned, a system of site or premisesbased physical inspections will be performed on high priority plants and plant products. This means that, from 1st January 2021 until 31st December 2021, businesses must notify the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of imports and register a PoD for plant(s) or plant material(s) where physical and identity checks - undertaken by a Defra plant health inspector - can take place.
The inspection may be carried out on plants or plant materials arriving from the EU and are either: a) being delivered to a yard/compound b) going direct to a UK site and being planted at this same site.
