To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimates she has made of the costs of administrating equine passports. [93363](2) what steps her Department is intending to take to minimise the costs to horseowners of introducing equine passports. [93366]

At present there are 56 organisations approved in the UK to issue horse passports. The administration costs to them will vary according to their own requirements and the number of passports they each issue. We have not therefore made any estimate of the costs of administering horse passports.Current costs to horseowners of buying horse passports is expected to decreasedue to economies of scale which will occur when every horse is required to have a passport.