Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what arrangements his Department is planning for the handling of groupage for the operation of the proposed red and green lanes covering goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

The Windsor Framework delivers significant benefits for operators who move groupage consignments and mixed loads, including the removal of burdensome paperwork and a reduction in checks.

The green and red lanes under customs arrangements are entirely virtual lanes with separate underlying electronic processes. Green and red lane goods can therefore be moved in the same vehicle without requiring physical segregation, meaning hauliers will not have to alter their logistical arrangements

Mixed loads containing agri-food goods moving through the red and green lane will also be permitted. Whilst the lorry as a whole would not benefit from the full facilitations of the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme, the subsection of goods moving under the scheme will still benefit from the advantages it offers, including removing the need for veterinary signed certificates for individual products. Guidance for traders on how these movements will operate is available on Gov.uk.

It will be a commercial decision for traders and hauliers as to how they move goods. This will be no different in principle to how hauliers make decisions on whether to operate groupage loads at present.