Logistics UK welcomes removal of UK post-Brexit lorry management measures

UK freight transport association Logistics UK has welcomed the removal this month of some post-Brexit road freight traffic management measures put in place ahead of the UK’s departure from EU rules on 1 January.

As reported yesterday in Lloyd’s Loading List, the so-called Kent Access Permit (KAP) – required for lorries before entry to the southern English count of Kent – and the M20 moveable barrier will be stood down from this week. The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) said the reason was because “delays have been prevented thanks to hauliers arriving at the border prepared”.

After their removal was announced yesterday, Logistics UK’s policy manager for the south, Heidi Skinner, commented: “The government’s decision to abolish the Kent Access Permit is a reflection of the hard work undertaken by logistics businesses across the supply chain to ensure operations are border ready before hauliers embark on travel to the Channel ports. The ‘Check an HGV’ service has been an effective tool in guiding businesses to the paperwork needed to cross the border.” 

She said yesterday’s news was “positive for the industry and, in conjunction with the deactivation of the M20 Operation Brock contraflow, will support the smooth flow of trade to and from the UK”. 

But she stressed that more needed to be done, especially with full checks on on EU goods arriving in the UK yet to be implemented, with the timetable for that delayed until the start of next year.

“Logistics UK is now urging government and industry to ensure the entire supply chain is ready for the introduction of further EU-UK border controls from 1 January 2022 to keep trade flowing freely in the months and years to come,” said Skinner.

As reported several times in Lloyd’s Loading List, long queues of lorries on roads to and from key UK Channel ports have not materialised, with UK exporters and their freight representatives that are struggling with the new trading rules choosing not to ship goods rather than dispatch vehicles without the necessary new documentation.

The DfT claimed that KAPs “have been instrumental in avoiding delays at the border, by ensuring that HGV drivers have the correct paperwork before setting off and allowing them to move quickly through the UK’s ports”.

It added: “Compliance with the KAP obligation from industry has been consistently high, tracking at more than 80% since the middle of January for non-GB hauliers, while the latest data shows the average compliance with the KAP obligation is at 86%. The removal of the KAP on 20 April will mean less paperwork for hauliers, making it quicker and easier to cross the border, further supporting the already smooth flow of goods from the UK into Europe.”

It said the Kent Resilience Forum had also announced plans to stand down the moveable barrier on 24 April. Specially designed to allow traffic on the M20 to continue in both directions, the barrier and its contraflow system “have been critical in keeping roads open and traffic moving as hauliers adjusted to the new border requirements”.

Although the UK government has argued that freight levels have returned to more or less the levels of last year, analysis indicates that short-straits freight vehicle traffic is down by around 20%. And although UK government figures indicate that UK-EU freight vehicle movements have returned to more or less the levels of last year, analysis indicates that a higher proportion of UK-EU vehicle movements are empty compared with previous years, with overall UK-EU road exports down compared with last year and 2019.