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I& #39;m not going to rehears entire border issues again (see threads passim) but a couple of key takeaways
1) #Covid19 has made it worse
2) companies still need details; Border Operating Model in July has not answered many Qs
(full release @BIFA here)/2 https://www.bifa.org/news/articles/2020/sep/freight-forwarders-express-reservations-on-brexit-preparedness?l=y">https://www.bifa.org/news/arti...
1) #Covid19 has made it worse
2) companies still need details; Border Operating Model in July has not answered many Qs
(full release @BIFA here)/2 https://www.bifa.org/news/articles/2020/sep/freight-forwarders-express-reservations-on-brexit-preparedness?l=y">https://www.bifa.org/news/arti...
So as Robert Keen @BIFA_DG tells me, in a survey back in May "only" 50% of members said they& #39;d be short of staff - now its 64% - which tallies with members raising concerns on Covid-19 /3
Because while it is true that Govt has put £50m into increasing numbers/training the reality is that many freight forwarding companies (whose staff will facilitate new border processes) have been furloughing staff dealing with Covid cashflow crunch...not rushing to take on risk/4
This is why Richard Burnett @RHARichardB and others have been banging on about government need to intervene more actively in a commercial marketplace that Whitehall (and politicians) are failing to understand the dynamics of (see 4, above) /5
The result as @RHARichardB @BIFA_DG and experts like @AnnaJerzewska say is that we& #39;re nowhere close to being ready for Jan 1 - deal or no deal.
But it& #39;s not just about the 50,000 customs clearance experts that don& #39;t yet exist...the chronic lack of info. For EG.../6
But it& #39;s not just about the 50,000 customs clearance experts that don& #39;t yet exist...the chronic lack of info. For EG.../6
As @AnnaJerzewska tells me, the government has said that business will be eligible for simplified eligibility requirements for CCG Comprehensive Customs Guarantee (duty deferral) and Entry in Declarant& #39;s Records (EIDR) status (for checks at warehouse)...BUT no guidance, as yet /7
The result is that business is getting conflicting advice, says @AnnaJerzewska on whether they should hold out for simplified regime, or protect themselves by getting full registrations. The result is stasis/confusion etc. /8
FWIW I did ask the Cabinet Office (which runs the Border Delivery Group) for guidance on WHEN these details will be shared with relevant businesses. Back came the reply: "in due course".
Yes, that is the sound of hair follicles being torn from scalps /9
Yes, that is the sound of hair follicles being torn from scalps /9
This is the problem - it& #39;s not just about customs agents or form filling - but about all the actors - hauliers, brokers, relevant government departments, port authorities and traders - working in concert with each other. Which brings us to IT..../10
The government has a new Goods Vehicle Management System (GVMS) and the Smart Freight Service app in order for hauliers to check they& #39;re good to go and not turn Kent into a lorry park....but it& #39;s still not available for users to train on. In fact..../11
According to @lisaocarroll scoop this AM on slides shared with Cab Cmme responsible for all this, "beta testing" on Smart Freight won& #39;t start "until the end of November". Wow. Let& #39;s hope its not integral to the system in any way. /12 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/14/official-post-brexit-report-warns-of-queues-of-7000-lorries-in-kent">https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
If you want a broader view of the issues - which really centre on trader readiness and their capacity to get ready when they wake up to the scale of change coming, last week& #39;s select committee with @AnnaJerzewska @RHARichardB @RobHardyFR8 is here/13
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/d0402d1b-0a13-4b4d-981f-59060e08eb75">https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Ind...
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/d0402d1b-0a13-4b4d-981f-59060e08eb75">https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Ind...
So what is going on? Why is the government so apparently cavalier about industry warnings/frustrations...and the risks of & #39;no deal& #39;, which they just made much higher by putting a gun to EU heads over the Irish Protocol? /14
Good Q, to which you hear a variety of answers from Whitehall insiders and industry...
One is that that Frost and co have actually given up on getting a zero tariff/zero quota deal on terms they find acceptable... hence move to re-write NI Protocol /15
One is that that Frost and co have actually given up on getting a zero tariff/zero quota deal on terms they find acceptable... hence move to re-write NI Protocol /15
There is a brute logic to this, since the Protocol as negotiated is incompatible with an ultra-sovereigntist view of Brexit which is the logic for refusing to agree sufficient State Aid/LPF elements to get the zero/zero deal you need to make NI Protocol work /16
If that& #39;s right - and who knows, but it logical inference of the way that UK Internal Market bill is drafted (see Section 45 totally disapplying the Protocol) - and you know the border is going to be a mess, there is political logic in having "EU intransigence" to blame /17
No matter that Article 16 of the Protocol and the Arbitration mechanism in the Withdrawal Agreement gives you plenty of ways to address your concerns...no-one will say it right out, but on one reading, this is now just blame game management /18
