Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) large companies, (b) SMEs and (c) micro businesses in recruiting customs brokers ahead of the end of the transition period.

Most companies will not need to employ customs brokers directly. The Government expects that all but the largest of businesses will use the services of an intermediary to support them in completing customs declarations.

The Government is supporting the intermediary sector to expand to meet predicted demand at the end of the transition period making available over £80 million of support for IT, training and recruitment through the Customs Grant Scheme.

In addition, the Government is supporting the sector through measures including changing liability rules, allowing parcel operators to bulk consignments, and the staging-in of import declarations.

The Government continues to monitor progress carefully, keeping all support mechanisms under review.