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Written question asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 20 June 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 July 2018. It was answered by Lord Callanan (Conservative) on Tuesday, 3 July 2018 on behalf of the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Customs

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to ensure smooth passage of freight and cars between Dublin and Holyhead in the event of a failure to reach an agreement on customs arrangements, as a result of leaving the customs union and the single market.

Answer

We want our future relationship with the EU to be a deep and special partnership. We are confident that this is very much in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. The Government does not want or expect a no deal outcome and the agreement on an implementation period makes such an outcome less likely.

However, a responsible Government should prepare for all potential outcomes. We have been engaging with border locations and the border industry to understand the operational impacts of any potential changes, especially at key locations like Dover, the Channel Tunnel and Holyhead, which handle large volumes of EU traffic.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL8836
Session
2017-19
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Customs Dublin Brexit Holyhead Port
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk