Business: Northern Ireland

(asked on 11th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the operation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and its impact on commercial and retail businesses since 1 January.


Answered by
Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 20th January 2021

The transition period has ended and the Protocol is now in operation. Goods are continuing to flow effectively and we are seeing that in the overall volumes, with high confidence in supplies, including for supermarkets.

The Government’s focus is on seeing that continue. That means working through individual issues where they arise and supporting traders to engage with the requirements for moving goods. The Government is engaging regularly with Northern Ireland businesses to this end, including through the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s Business Engagement Forum which has met at least 24 times since June of last year.

The free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS) and Movement Assistance Scheme also support businesses engaged in new processes under the Protocol. Where the correct data are provided, over 99% of TSS-processed declarations have been completed within 15 minutes.

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