Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the current export arrangements between the UK and the EU on the ability of hauliers to transport small quantities of goods directly from SMEs in the UK to consumers in the EU.

The Government has regular dialogue with representatives of the haulage sector and general business representative organisations through the Brexit Business Taskforce.

The Government is offering various avenues of support to hauliers, including over 20 helplines to provide advice to specific sectors. We have also published a Haulier Handbook - translated into 13 different languages - to provide information and advice to hauliers on how they can get ready for changes at the GB-EU border. This is in addition to the 46 Information and Advice sites across the UK.

The Government continues to provide support for businesses, as outlined in the statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on Thursday 11 February in which he announced the launch of the £20m SME Brexit Support Fund, which has been met with support from SMEs and provides them with access to grants and practical support.