Mr. Gerry Harrahill:

I thank the Deputy again, and I am happy to reassure him that we have continued the proactive engagement that we undertook in the two-year period leading up to 1 January 2021. We had two objectives in mind in doing so. Notwithstanding all the work involved in getting ready for Brexit, once it happened we clearly needed to support businesses in that transition and we have done so. Increasingly, our focus is on those changes that will kick in, as the Deputy said, on 1 January 2022. The main change to come is that the authorities on the UK side will be seeking compliance with their import formalities. The other element then is that over the course of 2022 the UK authorities will be ratcheting up controls on the sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, side of things.

We have therefore continued our engagement with trade and representative bodies, which has been very positive. It has emphasised the importance of us being aware of what the issues are for businesses. Sometimes it is about clarification, and sometimes there are issues that we can bring to the attention of the authorities in another member state. That could involve an issue manifesting as a problem in France or the Netherlands, for example, and we have a great deal of engagement and co-operation with colleagues right across the EU.

We are also engaging directly with Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, HMRC, on the UK side to try to ensure that there is certainty and clarity for businesses regarding what is going to happen from 1 January 2022 and what is expected of businesses in that context. I have probably said this before at other meetings, but the one thing that businesses hate is uncertainty. Unfortunately, sometimes, the changes on the UK side are unclear and leave businesses here uncertain about what is meant and how they are going to handle those changes. Again, we are trying to maximise clarity around that aspect.