Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what work has been undertaken to understand the technology and processes required to remove the need for infrastructure related to checks and controls at the Irish border itself aside from that on the Facilitated Customs Arrangement referred to in the Government's White Paper on the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

The Government’s preferred approach to customs, the facilitated customs arrangement (FCA), would avoid any need for customs declarations on cross-border trade and would ensure there are no stops or checks at the land border. The FCA will therefore fully deliver on the Government’s commitments to avoid a hard land border.

The UK is also seeking to be at the cutting edge of global customs policy. As the Government outlined in the “future customs arrangements” paper in August 2017, it has been exploring possible ways in which to use future advancements in technology to streamline the trading process; including by simplifying existing procedures to reduce burdens on business, or speeding up some authorisation processes through increased automation. The UK will look to implement such innovations, bilaterally or unilaterally, to promote the greatest possible trade with the rest of the world.