Asked by: Lord Archbishop of Canterbury (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the (1) capacity, and (2) resilience, of the Port of Dover.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Port of Dover has well-established procedures for handling freight/passenger traffic, including in-built resilience contingencies.
Government is supporting the Port of Dover to meet capacity and resilience challenges in many ways including phasing-in the new Border Operating Model; Kent Access Permits; free COVID testing for hauliers at many sites including Sevington and Manston and a concerted, extensive campaign to brief hauliers on new arrangements and legal requirements. The Government is also taking powers to make it a requirement to have a negative test before entering Kent.
Additionally, Port of Dover is relieved (as is Eurotunnel) of the difficult and expensive prospect of providing border checks facilities on-site. This is due to HMG providing fully-funded inland facilities.