Remember the government's no-deal Brexit plan for lorry traffic? Well, it's now *the plan* in all scenarios 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
4 years on from the referendum, and with just 4 mths to go until D-day, the gov has launched a consultation (🤔) on how it should manage UK-EU lorry traffic in Kent.
Operation Brock is back... 2/ gov.uk/government/con…
Operation Brock is back... 2/ gov.uk/government/con…
It's probably the soberest assessment yet of the dangers to traffic flow from Dec. 31, even with a free-trade deal with the EU.
It's these three paragraphs that make DfT very nervous 3/
It's these three paragraphs that make DfT very nervous 3/
Gov says it expects levels of readiness for new border checks among traders to be *about the same as in Oct. 2019*, due to coronavirus - and it was poor back then.
So a year longer to prepare for Brexit, but no meaningful improvement in preparation 4/
So a year longer to prepare for Brexit, but no meaningful improvement in preparation 4/
So what's the plan? Lorry drivers entering Kent will need to get a special permit by filling in details on a new gov website. No permit? £300 fine. Confirms our story from June 5/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
How will it be enforced? Checks by enforcement officials and potentially cameras recognising number plates. If intercepted, a lorry will be sent to one of the new Brexit lorry parks 6/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
And there's a back-up plan if the new IT system fails -- good old fashioned manual checking of lorries at the lorry parks, if queues have built up. But no checking if traffic is flowing, which is risky... 7/
So there you have it -- the no-deal Brexit traffic plan is now the plan we'll use anyway, with some little tweaks and additions.
Goes to show that even with a UK-EU FTA, there's border friction coming and businesses need to be ready (ends) bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Goes to show that even with a UK-EU FTA, there's border friction coming and businesses need to be ready (ends) bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
