As the deadline for Brexit approaches, the UK government has put its money where its mouth is and provided 705 British pounds to cover infrastructure, systems and staffing at the new Brexit borders.
According to a statement from the British Ports Association (BPA), the funding will be allocated to building border facilities at ports where infrastructure can be built on site, as well as for Government to build inland infrastructure sites where ports do not have the space.
The BPA, which represents a wide variety of UK port operators, including all the major ferry terminals that facilitate tens of thousands of HGVs between Britain and the EU every day, has been asking for funding commitments for some time and previously wrote to the Prime Minister outlining its concerns.
“These are helpful measures designed to ease the new borders requirements which come into force next year,” said Richard Ballantyne, BPA chief executive.
“Borders infrastructure of course means there will be some impact on freight and potentially flows of traffic. We are therefore pressing for the pragmatic enforcement of such processes so that trucks and cargo are not held up at our ports. Of course there is still a huge amount to prepare for and operators across the freight and logistics sectors will need to understand what will be required and what this will mean for their businesses.”
He said port operators were keen to see the detail of future borders arrangements. “About half of our trade is with the EU and so this is why we need to get the arrangements right.”
