Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals were qualified as customs intermediaries in the UK in (a) July and (b) August 2020.

HMRC do not employ customs intermediaries directly and there are no set qualifications.

The UK has a well-established industry of customs intermediaries that serve British businesses trading outside the EU. The sector is varied and made up of a number of different business models including specific customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators; all of which require differing numbers of staff.

The Government has now made available a total of £84 million to grow the sector to encompass EU trade after 2020. This is one part of the measures to support the customs intermediary sector to meet the increased demand it will see from traders at the end of the transition period.

The Government continues to monitor progress carefully and keeps support under review.