Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) long-term and (b) short-term freight traffic flows through the port of (i) Holyhead and (ii) Liverpool after the end of the transition period.

DfT has considered the impact of additional border requirements for goods travelling to the EU following the end of the transition period. In the case of both Liverpool and Holyhead detailed modelling has been undertaken considering the potential impact of these additional checks. The modelling considered a Reasonable Worst Case Scenario (RWCS). Even under the RWCS, disruption is expected to be relatively limited at these locations with any queues clearing within the day and as such there is not expected to be a marked knock on impact on the volume of goods travelling through those ports. This impact is also expected to reduce as traders become used to the new border requirements over time. Nevertheless these queues could lead to short term localised traffic disruption. DfT has shared the results of its modelling with the Welsh Government and relevant Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) so that these estimates can be considered in the development of their traffic management plans.