Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2020 to Question 39478 on Revenue and Customs: Staff, how many of the 50,000 customs agents target have been recruited as at May 2020.
Separately, the Government has made available £34m of funding to support the expansion of the customs intermediaries sector, including the development of an online customs academy to deliver training to the sector. The Government continues to work closely with industry to consider if further support is needed.
The UK has a well-established industry of customs intermediaries which serve British businesses trading outside the EU. The sector is varied and consists of a number of different business models, including specific customs agents, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators; all of which will require differing numbers of staff. Government support of £34m has been designed to meet the needs of the sector to build capacity, covering training and IT innovation, as well as recruitment. The further expansion of the sector will require the recruitment and training of talented individuals from all backgrounds.