Customs Safety and Security Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Agnew of Oulton Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2020 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Customs Safety and Security Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

Relevant document: 36th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office and the Treasury (Lord Agnew of Oulton) (Con)]

My Lords, we are here to discuss a further statutory instrument that is part of the Government’s package of SIs to prepare for the end of the transition period. This instrument concerns safety and security declarations, as did the SI debated here and in the other place last month. This statutory instrument was debated and agreed in the other place earlier today. If there is disruption at the border after the end of the transition period to which the Government have to respond, these powers will allow the Government to manage those issues. Noble Lords will be aware that the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee reported the regulations as an instrument of interest in its 36th report, published on 3 December.

Allow me to set out the context of the current regime for managing the safety and security risk of goods entering and leaving the UK. The UK subscribes to the World Customs Organization’s SAFE framework of standards, which sets out minimum requirements for participating customs administrations to regulate, monitor and secure the international supply chain. Customs authorities are required to collect and risk-assess data on consignments of imported and exported goods for security purposes. The UK does this through safety and security declarations, which goods carriers are required to submit.

These declarations are currently required under the Union customs code and are retained in law in the UK after the end of the transition period by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. While part of the EU, the UK required safety and security declarations only for goods leaving or entering the EU. From the end of the transition period, the default position is that carriers will be required to complete safety and security declarations for goods moved into and out of Great Britain where those goods are moving to or from the EU, as well as the rest of the world.

As we announced in June, the Government are staging in controls at the border after the end of the transition period. As part of that we have introduced a six-month waiver on the requirement to submit entry summary declarations for goods imported from the EU into Great Britain. The requirements for entry summary declarations for goods imported from the rest of the world will not change. That waiver will allow businesses affected by Covid-19 additional time to prepare to meet their requirements for safety and security, and the full range of customs controls, at the end of the staging-in period. While the Government have waived the safety and security requirement for imports from the EU and other countries where they are not currently completed until 1 July 2021, the requirement for safety and security declarations for exported goods is in place from 1 January 2021.

Before goods leave the country, carriers are required to submit safety and security data to HMRC for risk assessing. As well as managing safety and security issues, this data is also used to meet other international obligations, such as controls on the movements of live animals. This data is normally contained in a customs export declaration. Where there is no requirement for a customs export declaration—for example, in the case of the movement of an empty truck—the safety and security requirements are met through the submission of an exit summary declaration.

This SI gives the commissioners of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs the time-limited power to waive, by public notice, the requirement for the submission of safety and security information for goods exported from Great Britain. The deadline for the pre-departure submission of this information could also be altered by public notice. Any waiver would be introduced only where necessary to preserve the flow of goods at the border. Prior to any use of this power, the Government would consider risks such as border security and manage them against risks posed by the border disruption. Without this power, in some scenarios traders may be left with no option to compliantly export goods from Great Britain if they are unable to collect and submit the appropriate data to current time limits.

These powers are limited so that they can be used only if necessary to mitigate border disruption, and only within the first six months after the end of the transition period. Within this, any mitigation can be further limited; for example, by time, location, sector of trade or type of goods. Measures could therefore be applied depending on need. The Government will update Parliament as appropriate when introducing the waiver.

The Northern Ireland protocol means that there are no safety and security requirements for goods moved between Northern Ireland and the EU. The protocol applies EU UCC rules in Northern Ireland, and therefore the public notice powers introduced by this instrument would not affect goods movements into or out of Northern Ireland. Goods moved between Northern Ireland and the rest of the world will continue to be subject to safety and security requirements.

The Government continue to work with stakeholders to support their readiness for the end of the transition period. Introducing these powers is an important step in preparing for every eventuality after the end of the transition period. They will give the Government some capacity to intervene in safety and security requirements for exports, if necessary. These powers would be used only in exceptional circumstances, where it was absolutely necessary to ensure that goods could continue to move across the border. The powers would be used only after due consideration of the risks arising from the waiving of these requirements. I beg to move.

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[Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con)]

I thank noble Lords for their contributions. I am grateful for the chance to respond to the points raised.

The noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, asked about the impact on the country’s security of this statutory instrument which, to reassure the noble Lord, is for the export of goods, and so, in that direct context, is not of concern. However, the powers contained within SIs can be limited to apply only to certain types of goods. This has been provided for to allow targeted mitigation and to minimise security risks by providing a waiver only where necessary. Movements of prohibited and restricted goods are controlled by information contained in the customs export declaration and other licences, and the powers in this SI relate only to the safety and security declaration requirements. Even if a waiver were put in place that covered all goods, Border Force would continue to have access to additional intelligence to control border risks. It is also worth noting that we do not currently collect any safety and security data on exports to the EU, so any waiver here would not result in an increase in risks.

The noble Lord also spoke about this being a cut-and-paste solution. Safety and security declaration data is not currently gathered on all exports to the EU, so a waiver of these movements would retain the status quo. These powers could also be used to waive requirements for exports for the rest of the world if needed, but associated safety and security risks are minimal, since these goods are leaving Great Britain.

The Government intend to use these powers only where absolutely necessary to mitigate border disruption. Any waiver would be limited—for example, by time, location, sector of trade or type of goods—allowing targeted mitigation. Prior to any use of the power, the Government would consider the safety and security risks and manage them against the risks posed by the border disruption.

The noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, asked specifically about the movement of horses. The use of a public notice is the only method that would allow the Government to react as swiftly as may be needed to any disruption at the border after the end of the transition period. Without these powers, traders may be left in an unacceptable situation, where they are unable to compliantly export goods from Great Britain. The tripartite agreement to which the noble Lord referred is a specific agreement and, as I understand it, discussions are ongoing, but I will write with further information.

The noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, asked about security and the risks of enabling increased criminality. I reassure the noble Baroness that the Government take border security extremely seriously and would use these powers only where absolutely necessary and within limits to alleviate border disruption. The Home Office would be consulted and would continue to be involved in the event that the powers were used to ensure that risks were kept to a minimum. Border Force would also continue to have access to other intelligence. The noble Baroness asked about the application to the whole of the UK. Just to be specific: while this is UK legislation, these powers could be used only to apply to goods moving out of Great Britain.

On publicising the use of the powers, this would be published as an online notice in the first instance, and Parliament would be updated as appropriate. We would also support the introduction of any measures with other methods of communication to ensure that traders were made aware as quickly as possible. The noble Baroness asked about causes of disruption. A waiver could be for exports to any country or any cause of disruption. This is necessary to be able to manage different scenarios. Equally, the powers allow for a waiver to apply only to certain exports. In the event of any use of these powers, we would need to weigh up the associated risks and take the appropriate action. The powers are restricted to the first six months of next year, since they are intended specifically to tackle border disruption as a result of the new safety and security requirements.

As to the question of how quickly it would take us to issue the notice, powers allow for a public notice to be published implementing a change in less than two days. A notice would last for a maximum of six months, for the first half of next year. However, the powers would also allow for the notice to be put in place for a shorter period of time within that to ensure that we have the maximum flexibility to manage these risks appropriately.

The noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, asked how HMRC will use this contingency measure. We have established a process to ensure that we are able to assess any need for this contingency and balance risks. The process includes evidence-gathering and consultation with other departments, including the Home Office. We have been clear that these powers will be used only where absolutely necessary to avoid border disruption, and the Government will update Parliament in the event that we use the powers.

The noble Lord asked about any extension to the sunset clause. I reassure him that the powers can be used only within the first six months of next year and only to mitigate disruption. The Government have no plans to extend this contingency beyond the first six months of next year, as we do not anticipate that there will be any risk of disruption, as a result of the safety and security requirements on exports after that period. The Government could consider extending these powers further, but this would require a further statutory instrument which would be subject, as this one has been, to the appropriate parliamentary scrutiny.

I hear and understand the noble Lord’s concerns about the cliff-edge nature of the negotiations. I would like to offer a little more optimism in that, behind the scenes, a great deal of agreement has been achieved. There are some outstanding issues, but I remain confident that we will secure a deal with the EU in the next few days.

The Government are introducing this SI as a step towards being as prepared as we can be for all possible scenarios at the end of the transition period. We have been clear that these powers will be used only with due consideration of the risks, and only as is necessary to ease potential disruption at the border within the first six months of next year. I commend these regulations to the Committee.

Motion agreed.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)]

That completes the business before the Grand Committee this afternoon. I remind Members to sanitise their desks and chairs before leaving the Room. The Committee is adjourned, and I wish you all a nice weekend.

Committee adjourned at 4.25 pm.