Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with (a) port operators, (b) HMRC and (c) transport operators on methods to speed up offloading processes for imported goods; and if he will make a statement.

Ports around the world are experiencing similar issues with container capacity and supply chains, so this is not unique to the UK.

We are working closely across government, and with the freight industry, including on HGV driver shortages, to work through the challenges some of our ports are facing at this important time of the year.

We are also in regular contact with key port and shipping operators, at Ministerial and official level, in relation to the wider global international shipping issues arising from increased disruption, demand, and supply chain matters that may be causing some delays to goods.