• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Yorkshire Bylines
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home Affairs
    • Transport
    • World
    The PM in a compromising position, by Stan

    Boris Johnson having sex in the office: a case of misconduct in public office?

    Sinn Fein NI Protocol Bill

    Is the future course of Brexit now in the hands of Sinn Féin?

    RAF Linton

    Is the Home Office planning more law breaking at Linton camp?

    Eton College

    The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status

    Johnson and Macron

    Mais oui, mon ami: Johnson and Macron display ‘le bromance’ and discuss a European Political Community

    Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill, right, and Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald at the RDS in Dublin

    Northern Ireland Protocol Bill: a hopeless case and a dangerous one?

    SAY NO TO PUTIN

    War and no peace: Putin’s war with Ukraine threatens us all

    Prime minister PMQ prep

    Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

    The small number of trees shows that even the high uplands of the Dales was a woodland environment. Much has been nibbled down to the ground by heavy populations of sheep. Photo by Andy Brown

    Government policies destroying upland Yorkshire farming with no regard for the land or our health

    Trending Tags

    • Johnson
    • Coronavirus
    • Labour
    • Starmer
    • Northern Ireland protocol
    • Brexit
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Home Affairs
    • Transport
    • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Culture
    • Dance
    • Food
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Recipes
    • Sport
    Nostell Priory, Wakefield

    Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

    Headingley Cricket Stadium

    A view from the Roses match: is everything ‘rosey’ in English cricket?

    Bettys' Fat Rascals

    Scallywags, scoundrels and rascals abound in Yorkshire (we do like our scones)

    'Woke' beliefs

    Woke and proud: Compassion must never be allowed to go out of fashion

    Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

    What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

    Red Ladder

    Climbing the Red Ladder – bringing theatre to the community

    Kaiser Chiefs in Doncaster

    Kaiser Chiefs never miss a beat in Doncaster

    Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, second from right, is joined by Keighley Creative representatives, from left, Georgina Webster, Jan Smithies and Gemma Hobbs.

    Bradford announced as City of Culture 2025

    Queen cakes fit for a Queen

    Queen Cakes fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

    • Food
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Sport
  • Business
    • All
    • Economy
    • Technology
    • Trade
    Eton College

    The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status

    Freya Osment from Northern Gas Networks

    International Women in Engineering Day 2022

    Rail strikes

    Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

    conservative party

    The Conservative Party: fiscally irresponsible and ideologically incapable of addressing the current crises

    Yorkshire cows

    British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

    cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector

    Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

    Money on the floor - £20 notes

    The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

    Financial problems

    Surge in bad debt and late payments indicate mounting business distress in Yorkshire

    An evening photo tour of Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, with excellent light towards sunset.

    Winter blackouts and rationing for six million homes as government plans for disruption to energy supply

    Trending Tags

      • Economy
      • Technology
      • Trade
    • Region
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • News
      • All
      • Brexit
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • Home Affairs
      • Transport
      • World
      The PM in a compromising position, by Stan

      Boris Johnson having sex in the office: a case of misconduct in public office?

      Sinn Fein NI Protocol Bill

      Is the future course of Brexit now in the hands of Sinn Féin?

      RAF Linton

      Is the Home Office planning more law breaking at Linton camp?

      Eton College

      The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status

      Johnson and Macron

      Mais oui, mon ami: Johnson and Macron display ‘le bromance’ and discuss a European Political Community

      Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill, right, and Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald at the RDS in Dublin

      Northern Ireland Protocol Bill: a hopeless case and a dangerous one?

      SAY NO TO PUTIN

      War and no peace: Putin’s war with Ukraine threatens us all

      Prime minister PMQ prep

      Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

      The small number of trees shows that even the high uplands of the Dales was a woodland environment. Much has been nibbled down to the ground by heavy populations of sheep. Photo by Andy Brown

      Government policies destroying upland Yorkshire farming with no regard for the land or our health

      Trending Tags

      • Johnson
      • Coronavirus
      • Labour
      • Starmer
      • Northern Ireland protocol
      • Brexit
      • Culture
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Home Affairs
      • Transport
      • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Culture
      • Dance
      • Food
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Recipes
      • Sport
      Nostell Priory, Wakefield

      Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

      Headingley Cricket Stadium

      A view from the Roses match: is everything ‘rosey’ in English cricket?

      Bettys' Fat Rascals

      Scallywags, scoundrels and rascals abound in Yorkshire (we do like our scones)

      'Woke' beliefs

      Woke and proud: Compassion must never be allowed to go out of fashion

      Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

      What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

      Red Ladder

      Climbing the Red Ladder – bringing theatre to the community

      Kaiser Chiefs in Doncaster

      Kaiser Chiefs never miss a beat in Doncaster

      Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, second from right, is joined by Keighley Creative representatives, from left, Georgina Webster, Jan Smithies and Gemma Hobbs.

      Bradford announced as City of Culture 2025

      Queen cakes fit for a Queen

      Queen Cakes fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

      • Food
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Sport
    • Business
      • All
      • Economy
      • Technology
      • Trade
      Eton College

      The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status

      Freya Osment from Northern Gas Networks

      International Women in Engineering Day 2022

      Rail strikes

      Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

      conservative party

      The Conservative Party: fiscally irresponsible and ideologically incapable of addressing the current crises

      Yorkshire cows

      British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

      cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector

      Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

      Money on the floor - £20 notes

      The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

      Financial problems

      Surge in bad debt and late payments indicate mounting business distress in Yorkshire

      An evening photo tour of Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, with excellent light towards sunset.

      Winter blackouts and rationing for six million homes as government plans for disruption to energy supply

      Trending Tags

        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
      • Region
      No Result
      View All Result
      Yorkshire Bylines
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home News Brexit

      Government warned Britain “hopelessly ill prepared” to operate a functioning customs border

      The UK is falling short of its target to recruit 50,000 ‘form-fillers’ to handle post-Brexit trade and customs with the EU.

      Anthony RobinsonbyAnthony Robinson
      29-05-2020 18:02
      in Brexit
      Typical EU border post with Switzerland

      Kecko from Northeast corner of, Switzerland / CC BY

      2
      VIEWS
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
      ADVERTISEMENT

      The British International Freight Association, has become the latest industry body to warn the government that the UK is falling short of its target to recruit 50,000 ‘form-fillers’ to handle post-Brexit trade with the EU. Industry leaders say the government is misleading the public about its level of preparedness.

      Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, which represents frozen and chilled food logistics businesses, said politicians were showing “willful ignorance” about how “hopelessly ill-prepared both sides are to operate a functioning customs border” in January.

      The warnings came in a press release on Tuesday which sounded the alarm that the country is falling “many thousands” short of the estimated 50,000 customs agents required to complete new customs formalities from January next year.

      In a letter to a parliamentary committee Robert Keen, director-general of the British International Freight Association (BIFA), the industry group which is the main provider of customs training in the UK, raised “ongoing concerns” over “potentially misleading and ambiguous comments” from politicians and government.

      Mr Keen warned MPs that it took “at least a year” to train a customs agent to handle “routine inquiries” given the complexity of the forms. But with just six months to go until the new customs regime comes into force, concerns are now growing across the haulage industry about the levels of preparedness. 

      Apparently, BIFA managed to put just 1,298 people through an online customs training course in 2019. A further 244 had completed an online courses by February this year, but in March and April there were only 96 enrollments, a drop attributed to the coronavirus crisis.  Some of these trainees were enhancing existing skills, so even the limited numbers being trained are not all new recruits.

      Another 870 agents were trained at an online customs academy set up by the government in September last year with the Institute of Export and International Trade.

      Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said he believed it was now impossible to train the number of people required in time.

      “It is impossible to think we can train this number of people, get them ready and processes in place to be ready on the first of January”

      Richard Burnett, Road Haulage Association

      Mr Keen also suggested Mr Gove may have exaggerated the status of a new customs academy in Kent when he told MPs the government had been talking to the industry about the facility.

      “We do not believe there have been any substantive talks subsequently, certainly not with the trade body that officially represents UK freight-forwarding companies, BIFA,” Mr Keen said in his 11 May letter to Hilary Benn, chair of the committee on the future relationship with the EU, seen by the Financial Times.

      When the cabinet office was asked for details about the plans for an academy – its location, funding or any timeline – they declined to provide any further information.

      A government spokesperson said it was working to increase the existing customs sector to encompass EU trade after 2020 through a £34m grant scheme. “Thousands of agents, freight forwarders and parcel operators have taken advantage to improve everything from IT hardware to staff training,” he added.

      In a second press release BIFA, following a survey of its members, called for an extension to the transition period:

      “When 72 percent of 400 companies that are actively involved day-to-day in managing the UK’s visible imports and exports call for an extension of the transition period, we can only hope that the Government will again be listening.”

      It follows a similar warning from the Road Haulage Association earlier this month.

      ADVERTISEMENT
      Previous Post

      Through the heaven and the hell, the forgotten tour of the world on a motorcycle

      Next Post

      The folly of ending freedom of movement

      Anthony Robinson

      Anthony Robinson

      Anthony is a retired sales engineer, living in North Yorkshire. He has represented several European manufacturers of packaging machinery in the UK. Anthony is interested in politics, although not as an active member of any party, and enjoys reading, gardening and DIY.

      Related Posts

      Sinn Fein NI Protocol Bill
      Brexit

      Is the future course of Brexit now in the hands of Sinn Féin?

      byAnthony Robinson
      30 June 2022
      Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill, right, and Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald at the RDS in Dublin
      Brexit

      Northern Ireland Protocol Bill: a hopeless case and a dangerous one?

      byAnthony Robinson
      29 June 2022
      Prime minister PMQ prep
      Brexit

      Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

      byAnthony Robinson
      28 June 2022
      Money on the floor - £20 notes
      Brexit

      The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

      byAnthony Robinson
      13 June 2022
      Imperial Measurements
      Brexit

      Inching ever backwards: the proposed return to imperial measurements

      byPaul Bright
      10 June 2022
      Next Post
      A photo of someone going through customs and doing an automated passport check

      The folly of ending freedom of movement

      Want to support us?

      Can you help Yorkshire Bylines to grow and become more sustainable with a regular donation, no matter how small?  

      DONATE

      Sign up to our newsletter

      If you would like to receive the Yorkshire Bylines regular newsletter, straight talking direct to your inbox, click the button below.

      NEWSLETTER

      LATEST

      The PM in a compromising position, by Stan

      Boris Johnson having sex in the office: a case of misconduct in public office?

      30 June 2022
      Sinn Fein NI Protocol Bill

      Is the future course of Brexit now in the hands of Sinn Féin?

      30 June 2022
      RAF Linton

      Is the Home Office planning more law breaking at Linton camp?

      30 June 2022
      Eton College

      The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status

      30 June 2022

      MOST READ

      The PM in a compromising position, by Stan

      Boris Johnson having sex in the office: a case of misconduct in public office?

      30 June 2022
      Sinn Fein NI Protocol Bill

      Is the future course of Brexit now in the hands of Sinn Féin?

      30 June 2022
      Roundhay High School in 2000. It was demolished soon afterwards and the front of Roundhay
Boys’ School next door was kept and the new school built behind it.

      Liz Truss and “my comprehensive school”

      28 December 2020
      Eton College

      The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status

      30 June 2022

      BROWSE BY TAGS

      antivaxxers Charity Climate change Coronavirus Cost of living Creative industries Crime Cummings Democracy Devolution Equality Farming Fishing History Immigration Johnson Journalism Labour Mental health NHS Northern Ireland protocol Pollution Poverty PPE Starmer Travel Ukraine
      Yorkshire Bylines

      Yorkshire Bylines is a regional online newspaper that supports citizen journalism. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Yorkshire and beyond.

      Learn more about us

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Contact
      • About
      • Letters
      • Donate
      • Privacy
      • Bylines network
      • Shop

      © 2022 Yorkshire Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • News
        • Brexit
        • Education
        • Environment
        • Health
        • Home Affairs
        • Transport
        • World
      • Politics
      • Opinion
      • Lifestyle
        • Culture
        • Dance
        • Food
        • Music
        • Poetry
        • Recipes
        • Sport
      • Business
        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
      • Donate
      • The Compendium of Cabinet Codebreakers
      • The Davis Downside Dossier
      • The Digby Jones Index
      • Newsletter sign up
      • Cartoons by Stan
      • Authors

      © 2022 Yorkshire Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In