Breaking: a government fund to train customs agents for Brexit has run out of money 1/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
The £84m customs grant scheme was funding training courses and new IT systems to help firms prepare for the incoming wave of Brexit red tape (extra 200m customs declarations annually, deal or no deal) 2/
But now it’s been oversubscribed and applications are going on a waiting list, even amid ongoing concerns about shortages of personnel (industry says 50,000 extra agents are needed, Govt has been reluctant to say how many have been trained) 3/
This matters because if firms can’t get their post-Brexit paperwork sorted, they run the risk of being held up by French customs officials. And this week’s events have shown what happens when the border seizes up.. 4/ google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bloo…
The U.K. shortage of customs agents has seen firms turn to cheaper labour overseas to plug the gap 5/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Labour’s @RachelReevesMP has consistently pressed govt on customs agent capacity, and officials are increasingly optimistic it’ll be alright on the night, but specific figures still hard to come by 6/
Will HMRC/Cabinet Office allocate more funding? Industry sources say there’s lots of pent-up demand for more customs training and they don’t feel ready for what’s coming. With the border looking as it is, maybe it’d be wise to open the taps again.. ends/ google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bloo…
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