UK ports threaten legal action after spending millions on post-Brexit border checkpoints | Political news

Ports across the country are threatening the government with legal action unless compensated to cover the millions of pounds they have spent building new border checkpoints.

The posts, due to be made this month, are designed to carry out post-Brexit fact checks on imports of animal and plant products from the EU – a measure that will come into force from 1. July.

But they may never be used as planned.

In late April, the government announced the controls would be in place until at least the end of next year amid concerns about the cost of living crisis.

Portsmouth It is the UK’s second busiest cross-Strait port, and a quarter of a million vehicles pass every year carrying goods to and from Europe.

Its £25m border checkpoint was completed on time in July and is ready to go – but the most modern new facility is empty.

With the government considering using technology to create a digital border system for most goods in the future, the port believes the building will likely be largely redundant.

Originally, the border checkpoint was designed to conduct 50,000 physical checks annually on goods such as meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruit and timber.

The building consists of sterile refrigeration and freezer units kept at -21C. It is staffed by 67 officers, including veterinarians, technical officers and port personnel.

Unlike other ports in the country, Portsmouth is owned by the local council, which uses the profits to help fund services.

While it received £17.1m from the government, it still had to borrow £7.8m to cover the total cost of building the facility. Ongoing operational costs are also causing severe resource drain.

“It costs a million pounds a year to run which is funded by the people who use it – now the government says nobody needs to use it. Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of the Liberal Democrats of Portsmouth City Council, said it would have to come from council taxpayers here in Portsmouth.

“The government told us we had to build this, it told us the exact specifications it had to be built. Now I have to figure out the £7.8 million they won’t. funding, even though they told us to build it. I now. have to cut back on the other services residents rely on and that’s really skyrocketed.”

He said he was considering legal action against the government along with other ports.

“We’ve consulted lawyers and talked to other ports – this is their project and they need to pay for it. The government has to deal with this mess.”

‘Gateways paid £100m more’ to get the job done in time

The government’s Port Infrastructure Fund spent £200 million to support the costs of 41 border checkpoints at ports, terminals and airports in December 2020. However, the fund has been registered. excessive, and the Association of Great Britain’s Ports estimates ports to pay an extra £100m on their own to get the job done on time.

The Cabinet Office claims its decision not to impose new existing controls will save traders up to £1 billion and ease pressure on the cost of living.

Read more:
UK-Australia trade deal: Post-Brexit ‘from scratch’ trade deal complete
Post-Brexit trade deal reached between UK and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein

Some businesses are delighted with the move. Simon Lane is the chief executive officer of Fruco, a Sussex-based company that imports fresh fruit and vegetables from Europe.

“It’s music that reaches my ears quite frankly. The fewer constraints we have to overcome and the more hurdles we have to overcome, the less we have to essentially get through, which means we have less overhead. And if we have less overhead then we can pass that on to our customer base.”

But Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Seaport Association, says it’s all a huge waste of money and effort.

“If they had decided two or three years ago that we would have no checks and balances, or only limited testing and control and targeting processes at our border, we wouldn’t have It takes effort and expense to build the base.

“Last time, we were very frustrated when we had to go through the procedures for planning permission, recruiting and appointing contractors, even recruiting staff.

“Industry and government have been working together to build these facilities at a rapid pace to be told they won’t be needed and potentially moving to a completely different arrangement. I have been left with these efficient white elephants at our ports – the industry has been reeled and we need government action.”

UK businesses ‘save up to £1 billion’ in annual costs

In a statement, the Cabinet Office said: “We are always open to looking at new ways to reduce the burden on merchants, ease cross-border flows and cut costs to help merchants reduce costs. pressure on living costs.

“That’s why the remaining import controls on EU goods will no longer be in place this year – saving UK businesses up to £1 billion in annual costs. In addition, merchants will continue to move their goods from the EU to GB as is.Industry ports across the country support our decision.

“We are currently working with ports, including Portsmouth, on an individual basis to assess the impact of the July import control decision and address any issues or concerns they may have. This includes seeking to identify ways to prevent unnecessary additional capital costs and minimize ongoing costs.”