Mr. David McArdle:

All of this takes time. If drivers were told what the problem was in the first place, they might have the required information in the truck, perhaps in an envelope which they got from the customer in the UK. However, because of the processes in place, the agent has to be told and he or she then contacts the customer.

We also contact the customer to say we are being delayed but that we do not know why. All that takes time. Equally, all of this happens at 6 a.m. in the morning, and customs agents do not come in until 9 a.m. They have to go through their list of problems with Revenue and then they look at our issues, whether with certificates or the need for further information. They then have to contact their customers in the UK, the responses come back to the customs agents and that information regarding the issues must then go to Customs and Excise. The driver must still wait, so we are talking about a minimum of four when there is an issue. Revenue stated last week that 86% of goods were green-routed, but that is only 50% of the volumes in 2019-20.