Lorry park ‘farce’ and ‘recruitment roulette’ as Brexit circus rolls on
The scale of the operational impact of Brexit on the road transport industry remained as uncertain as ever as Transport Operator went to press in late January, following an historic parliamentary rejection of prime minister Theresa May’s proposed deal for EU withdrawal.
The 230-majority defeat, while resounding – the heaviest, indeed, suffered by any UK prime minister on democratic record – nonetheless offered little clarity as regards likely next steps, with Mrs May clinging onto office and seemingly, onto the substance of her existing proposals, for which she was still hoping she could foment sufficient support before the looming 29 March deadline.
Commentators were, however, increasingly predicting that Article 50, the legislation that will trigger the UK’s exit from the EU, would need to be extended beyond March to allow the House of Commons to find a way forward.
Following the news of Mrs May’s defeat, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) urged both the executive and Parliament to seek consensus on a withdrawal agreement.
“It is imperative that any withdrawal deal includes a transition period to establish new and efficient border technology, and systems across industry needed to be put in place to avoid disastrous queues at ports and also a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic,” said chief executive Richard Burnett.
“In addition, a deal would avoid reliance on an acute shortage of permits and measures for customs that are unworkable and impractical.”
James Hookham, deputy CEO at the Freight Transport Association, added: “With no clear solution for what happens next, the risk of a no deal has risen significantly – and the problems which this would cause of businesses, which now have virtually no time to prepare, would be catastrophic for the UK’s supply chain, on which we all rely…
“Issues such as how customs declarations are to be made and tariffs collected, the access rights for trailers and UK personnel, and how access is to be granted for vehicles, may seem incidental to some, but actually have a huge impact on the way that goods and services are able to flow freely between the UK and its biggest trading partner.
“Logistics must not and will not be held up as the ‘whipping boy’ for politicians who have failed to take into account the complexity of the supply chain over the past two years… FTA is urging the government once again to reach an agreement with the EU which can keep goods and services flowing with minimal or no hindrance.”
Individual affected businesses also aired their frustrations, with Ian Baxter of international logistics provider Baxter Freight declaring he was “fed up with this rotten Parliament”.
“The fact that I run a European freight business and the government cannot tell me what’s going to happen regarding trade with Europe in two months’ time, is just outrageous,” he remarked.
“Businesses need answers; we can’t be expected to waste money on pointless no-deal preparations or do nothing while the clock ticks down…
“This is not a game, this is people’s livelihoods; and the idea of crashing out of the EU without any kind of transition – let alone plan for a future workable relationship – is crazy and would do great harm to British business.”
He continued: “I understand that Brexit is complicated and divisive, but it is incredibly frustrating that the same people who voted to trigger Article 50 two years ago still can’t come together to agree how we are going to leave the EU and the kind of relationship we would like in the future…
“Together they have conspired to upend two years of sensible negotiation of what a real world departure from the EU will look like.”
Contingency plans
The deadline for UK operators to apply for ECMT permits for 2019, which will ensure they can continue operating on the continent after Brexit in a no-deal scenario, was extended from December into January, but has now passed.
DVSA is now beginning to allocate permits based on set criteria. With only 984 annual permits available, those who do not receive one will be automatically considered for a short-term, 30-day permit, subject to availability. Fees must be paid within 10 working days by firms allocated a permit.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has laid out proposals for short-term contingency plans to help road transport operators to continue to move across borders should a no-deal scenario render their current community licences invalid.
“The loss by… operators of their right to provide road freight transport between the UK and the [EU] member states would… result in serious disruptions, including in respect of public order,” the EC said.
“It is therefore appropriate for the Union to adopt temporary and time-limited contingency measures to mitigate such potentially disruptive effects for connectivity.”
The EC proposals, which would apply until 31 December this year, would allow UK hauliers to continue moving goods in either direction between the UK and EU member states, including collections and deliveries to multiple nations.
They would seemingly not allow UK operators to engage in cabotage, however, or to move goods between EU member states; and other limitations are likely to apply. The plans do not cover customs arrangements.
The RHA warned that the contingency plans were “limited in scope”, still required final approval by EU institutions, and did not directly mirror existing arrangements. The im-plementation of the proposals, it added, was dependent on the UK granting reciprocal arrangements.
Further details are available in an RHA briefing document, available on its website. The association has also compiled a useful ‘no-deal checklist’ of actions it says hauliers would need to take.
In Kent in early January, fewer than 90 trucks reportedly turned out for a government road-test of contingency plans which could see the former Manston airport site used as an emergency lorry park for some 4,000 vehicles, in the event of port disruption caused by a no-deal Brexit.
In Parliament, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the transport secretary Chris Grayling had “a PhD in incompetence”.
“Even today, we see the farce of lorries being lined up to stage a fake traffic jam in Kent to pretend to the EU that the government are ready for a no deal – a stunt that the RHA describes as “window dressing” and that one of the drivers describes as a “complete waste of time”.
“The government are fooling nobody. These shambolic preparations are too little, too late.”
EU nationals in the UK
Meanwhile, continued uncertainty for EU nationals working in the UK transport sector was highlighted as a matter of deep concern by the FTA, which said the country faced a cliff-edge not only in terms of the supply chain more widely, but also for individuals driving goods across the UK.
“The news that the Settled Status Scheme is finally open to selected applicants is encouraging, but too little too late – three million people cannot be processed in eight weeks and there is no system for employers to check right to work,” said Sally Gilson, FTA’s head of skills.
“In addition, businesses still cannot make plans for their workforce after March, with the Future Immigration White Paper still to be ratified. This is unacceptable after two years in which government could have clarified the situation to ensure consistency in the supply chain…
“It seems ludicrous that government has itself confirmed that businesses cannot check EU workers’ right to work until a suitable system is in place – so how and when is this to be possible?”
She continued: “Our members are concerned that job offers made now to EU citizens for roles starting after March won’t be legal in the case of a no deal. How are businesses to plan for seasonal peaks in the supply chain when it is impossible to confirm who they are able to employ and when? …
“Employers need to know whether they can recruit outside of UK post-Brexit for roles earning under £30,000. Will job offers starting after 29 March still stand? Will a system be ready to check the right to work? Will frontier workers, who live in the EU but commute to jobs here, still be free to work in the UK?”
She added: “This game of recruitment roulette is wreaking havoc with peoples’ lives, and with the UK’s complex supply chain that supports every element of our nation’s economy.”
