Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to prepare for potential delays in Anglesey, and at or near other ports in the UK, after 31 December.

Ports policy in Wales is devolved and is a matter for the Welsh Government. The Department for Transport is working closely with and supporting the Cabinet Office’s Border and Protocol Delivery Group (BPDG) on delivering the required preparations for the end of the transition period. In July 2020, the government committed to spending £470 million on new border infrastructure to support ports in building extra capacity to meet the new control requirements where there is space to do so, and, if necessary, to build additional inland sites across the country where checks can take place.

The Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) will support ports in preparing for any potential disruptions that may occur at the end of the transition period. The PIF has been open for applications from 2 October and industry is encouraged to utilize the fund where applicable.

HMG is also working with Welsh and Scottish Governments to confirm the infrastructure requirements for Wales and Scotland. This includes sites which will be required to be in place to support both Holyhead in Anglesey and specific ports in South West Wales.

DfT officials are working closely with English Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) with high volume EU facing Roll-on Roll-off ports in their areas, ensuring that these LRFs have the required information and analysis to enable them to put in place appropriate traffic management plans in case of traffic disruption following the end of the EU Transition Period.