Business, Express, Forwarding, Freight News, Logistics

Government invests to get trade Brexit-ready

[ October 26, 2018   //   Chris ]

HM Treasury and HMRC have designed a package of measures, to help  companies prepare for Brexit in March 2019.

It will include a one-off investment of £8 million to support broker training and increased automation.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride, said: “HM Treasury and HMRC have been engaging extensively with the customs intermediaries sector on EU exit, including customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators. We have listened to their concerns about the extra demand for customs broker services in the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal in March 2019. We plan to invest £8m for customs training and automation to support the sector to expand to help meet the potential increase in demand for this scenario.

There will be a procurement process for training providers for new courses or expanding existing material for customs brokers. The government says its research has indicated a lack of widely available and accessible training provision for customs brokers.

There will be a grant scheme to support intermediaries and traders with the upfront costs of training their employees and another to support investment in automation in the sector.

The Government expects the procurement process for contracts with training providers to start in coming weeks, with the grant schemes expected to be available in late autumn.

Further details will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

 

Tags: Government, HMRC