Saturday, February 29, 2020
Taking control...of the red tape?
So, taking back control, freeing ourselves from European red tape - how exactly is that going? Well, according to this article in the Guardian, a race to hire 50,000 people in the next six months to process Brexit paperwork is under way after the government confirmed they would be needed for border operations:
But experts have warned it will be a challenge to train enough people in time to be competent in the complexity of customs declarations and the second layer of red tape involving entry and exit declaration forms that are mandatory for trading with the EU.
The Road Haulage Association has warned that the number of declaration forms for tariffs alone will rocket from the current 50m a year to 200-250m a year.
In addition, the exit and entry forms introduced after the 9/11 terror attack in New York to ensure safety on ferries and planes will involve another 100-125m forms being processed every year.
Rod McKenzie, the managing director of policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association sets out the size of the mountain facing the government:
“We have been told by a large freight company expert in the field that they get a productivity of around 4,000 clearances a year per staff member (that is about 20 clearances a day). That makes sense given the complexity of many transactions. Worth noting, that is with skilled, trained, experienced labour.
“So if we are dealing with 200m extra declarations, at a productivity rate of 4,000 per year that equals 50,000 staff needed on day one, and probably more.”
As the paper points out, the number of staff needed dwarfs the 12,000 people estimated to work in the fishing industry, a sector emblematic of Brexit. Yet another fine mess Boris Johnson has got us into.
But experts have warned it will be a challenge to train enough people in time to be competent in the complexity of customs declarations and the second layer of red tape involving entry and exit declaration forms that are mandatory for trading with the EU.
The Road Haulage Association has warned that the number of declaration forms for tariffs alone will rocket from the current 50m a year to 200-250m a year.
In addition, the exit and entry forms introduced after the 9/11 terror attack in New York to ensure safety on ferries and planes will involve another 100-125m forms being processed every year.
Rod McKenzie, the managing director of policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association sets out the size of the mountain facing the government:
“We have been told by a large freight company expert in the field that they get a productivity of around 4,000 clearances a year per staff member (that is about 20 clearances a day). That makes sense given the complexity of many transactions. Worth noting, that is with skilled, trained, experienced labour.
“So if we are dealing with 200m extra declarations, at a productivity rate of 4,000 per year that equals 50,000 staff needed on day one, and probably more.”
As the paper points out, the number of staff needed dwarfs the 12,000 people estimated to work in the fishing industry, a sector emblematic of Brexit. Yet another fine mess Boris Johnson has got us into.
