Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the readiness of (a) inland and (b) port border infrastructure by July 2021 for the introduction and enforcement of EU import controls.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement published on 11 March. (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-03-11/hcws841).

The Reasonable Worst Case Scenario planning assumptions published on 23 September related specifically to the potential for disruption to freight travelling at the end of the Transition Period. The Government is using a broad range of approaches to planning and preparing for the next phases of border controls.

Freight levels have increased since the beginning of the year, and volumes are now at the equivalent 2020 levels. The Border Operations Centre in the Cabinet Office is monitoring border flow.