Department for Transport ‘no-deal’ Brexit plans ‘worryingly under-developed’

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the DfT has a “great deal to do” ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU on 29 March 2019.

Committee Chair Meg Hillier said: “The future of road, rail, maritime and air access to Europe after Brexit remains unclear.”

The Labour Co-operative MP added: “The Department for Transport has a critical role in ensuring the UK is prepared.”

Of particular concern was the impact of a non-negotiated deal on customs checks at key trade points, such as the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover.

PAC Deputy Chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said: “The Department for Transport needs to make whatever contingencies necessary to ensure that disruption to passengers, goods and services arriving or leaving by road, air or sea is kept to the bare minimum.”

Dover is the UK’s largest trading hub through which an estimated 33,000 freight vehicles enter and exit the UK every day.

With the UK’s current EU membership, there are limited or no customs checks of freight vehicles.

Loading and unloading is fast and, if a haulage company is registered, can be done without having to book a place on a specific train or ferry.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA), which represents businesses that use road, rail and sea links says the uncertainty over what will happen with customs checks in a no-deal scenario was affecting businesses who were trying to plan next year’s orders.

Heidi Skinner, the FTA’s Policy Manager for the South East told Sky News: “It’s going to be very difficult for haulage companies to be able to know exactly how long it’s going to take from A to B.

“We don’t know where checks are going to be.

“If you’ve got fruit and vegetables, where are the checks going to take place? So we’re looking for more clarity for what businesses want and need.”

The FTA estimates that even an additional two minutes of customs checks could lead to nearly 20 miles of traffic tailbacks along the M20 motorway, which leads into Dover.

Project Brock, the DfT’s new plan to widen the motorway to help avoid congestion in case of delays, was also heavily criticised by the committee’s report.

The report states: “The department plans to spend £30 – 35million this year on Project Brock.

“But it is still to carry out proposed desk-based testing of the system and engagement with businesses has been poor.

“The secrecy around the department’s preparations, and the shortcomings in assurance on its progress, are a potentially toxic combination.”

The DfT, however, has been robust in its response to the report.

A spokesperson told Sky News: “We disagree with the committee’s conclusions which are not accurate and we are both disappointed and surprised that they have failed to reflect the evidence set out in the National Audit Office’s report, which found that the Department has made a determined effort in its preparations and achieved a great deal.”