To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of illegal meat imported into the UK in each year since 2001. (135240)

It is not possible to make an accurate estimate of the number of illegal meat imports because they are illegal and therefore, clandestine.

The Government have significantly increased the amount of money available to tackle illegal imports of Products Of Animal Origin (POAO), plants and Plant Based Goods (PBG). £25 million has been spent over the past three years. This money was split between DEFRA, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) shown as follows:

The current level of funding has been included in HMRC’s 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.

Since April 2001, seizures of illegal meat imported into the UK have been recorded and are shown in the following table:

The table includes seizures made by HMRC at points of entry (and by staff funded by DEFRA until 11 April 2003), those made by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland (DARDNI) at points of entry in Northern Ireland, and those made by inland local/port health authorities. HMRC have been responsible for anti-smuggling controls on POAO into Great Britain since 11 April 2003.

It is not possible to say whether the increase in seizures is a result of more smuggling activity. It is equally likely to be the result of greater surveillance and enforcement.