The National Audit Office warns that the pandemic has exacerbated delays in Government preparations and says there is “little time” for ports and other third parties to integrate their systems and processes with new or changed systems.

It adds that while the Department for Transport announced on 13 October that contracts had been awarded to provide additional freight capacity for over 3000 lorries a week on routes avoiding the Channel crossings, Covid “is making civil contingency plans more difficult to enact”.

National Audit Office head Gareth Davies said: “The 1 January deadline is unlike any previous EU exit deadline – significant changes at the border will take place.”
Logistics UK policy director Elizabeth de Jong said much has been achieved during the transition period after Britain left the European Union, but added: “There is still much to be done if disruption is to be avoided, with detail still required in order for logistics operators to brief and train staff and adopt new processes for declarations, tariff calculation and payments.”

On Monday the Government launched two freight consultations: one on introducing longer ‘semi trailer’ vehicles permanently on British roads, and a second that proposes an increase in the maximum weight of some heavy goods vehicles from 44t to 48t. It says the longer semi trailers can carry three more rows of supermarket goods cages on each journey compared to traditional trailers. A 15 year trial of the lorries – which are two metres longer than conventional heavy goods vehicles – began in 2012, and Government is looking to end the trial early.

The proposed trial of heavier goods vehicles would operate on around 10 routes that have been cleared as ‘safe’ for use by 48t vehicles. But infrastructure organisation Britpave has warned that the proposals to allow longer and heavier lorries need careful thought. Its chairman Joe Quirke said: “The way forward is to design specific truck lanes where the road is specifically constructed to meet the demands of heavy traffic loads.”

Also this week, Network Rail has relaunched a campaign to tackle bridge strikes in Lincolnshire after it found that two bridges in Grantham on the route of the East Coast Mainline were hit 21 times last year. Across the country the number of reported bridge strikes has fallen by an average of 11%. But the county of Lincolnshire has seen no decrease, Network Rail says. “As Christmas deliveries ramp up, we're urging all drivers to know the size of their vehicle and follow the guidance,” said route director Paul Rutter.

(Photograph: Kevin Atkins - Shutterstock)