Portaloos will be set up in Kent and potentially in areas “throughout the country” for lorry drivers caught up in ports chaos after Brexit.
Rachel Maclean, the transport minister, revealed the plan – amid predictions of queues of up to 7,000 trucks unable to reach the continent.
“We have detailed plans that we worked up for provision of, not only portaloos, but other facilities for drivers, not only in Kent,” she told MPs.
“We don’t want to see them in queues and we want to think about the impact on them,” she added.
One MP warned of lorry driver already having to relieve themselves in lay-bys, with a “proliferation of bottles that look like they’re filled with Irn Bru”.
Ms Maclean also conceded there will be a big shortage of permits for hauliers, if the UK crashes out of the transition period at the end of the year without a deal, admitting: “We know it will not be adequate.”
There are currently 8,000 firms with permission to drive in the EU – boasting 39,000 trucks – but as few as 2,200 could be available after 1 January.
The portaloos plan comes after the revelation that truck drivers will need what has been dubbed a “passport for Kent” – an access permit to enter the county, to ease congestion.
Exporters face two-day delays to reach France, with 70 per cent of trucks not ready for new checks, creating the risk of queues of up to 7,000 lorries snaking through Kent.
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A message projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters attend the Brexit Day Celebration Party hosted by Leave Means Leave at Parliament Square on January 31, 2020 in London, England. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland exits the European Union, 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd, 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Nigel Farage speaks to pro-Brexit supporters
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU The five-year old Elisa Saemann, left, and her seven-year old sister Katie hold a placard during a rally by anti-Brexit protesters outside the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Europe supporters gather on Brexit day near the British embassy in Berlin, Germany
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-Brexit supporters burn European Union flags at Parliament Square
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man poses for a picture on Parliament Square in a ‘Brexit Day’ t-shirt
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-EU anti-Brexit protester holds up a placard showing Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri in Parliament Square in central London on January 31, 2020 on the day that the UK formally leaves the European Union. – Britain on January 31 ends almost half a century of integration with its closest neighbours and leaves the European Union, starting a new — but still uncertain — chapter in its long history. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) GLYN KIRK
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man wears a pro-Brexit t-shirt
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Anti-Brexit demonstrators visit Europe House to give flowers to the staff on Brexit day
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-Brexit demonstrator clenches his fist during a rally in London, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Britain officially leaves the European Union on Friday after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) Alberto Pezzali
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Pro-EU activists protest at Parliament Square as people prepare for Brexit on January 31, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland will exit the European Union 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Pro Brexit supporters hold up placards at Parliament Square as people prepare for Brexit on January 31, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. At 11.00pm on Friday 31st January the UK and Northern Ireland will exit the European Union 188 weeks after the referendum on June 23rd 2016. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Jeff J Mitchell
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Ann Widdecombe reacts with other members of the Brexit party as they leave en masse from the European Parliament
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man walks with a St. George’s flag at Westminster bridge on Brexit day
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Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A British bulldog toy and other souvenirs at a souvenir store
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Haulage representatives told the inquiry of a staggering mountain of red tape that will be needed – even if a trade deal is reached, because of leaving the single market and customs union.
It would include a movement reference number for each product, a safety and security declaration, an export health certificates and phytosanitary certificates – in order to drive to France.
The EU is expected to impose full goods controls on the UK from 1 January, stopping all freight without the correct documentation as the reality of Brexit bites.
The disruption is assumed to build in the first two weeks of January, but could last for three months or longer should France rigorously apply Schengen passport checks on hauliers.
Ms Maclean admitted action would need to be taken to help lorry drivers stuck in “stationary traffic”, in Kent and “a range of other areas throughout the country”.
“We really want to minimise the impact on those drivers who are already working really hard and we don’t want to see them in queues and we want to think about the impact on them,” she told the committee.
Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said lorries had been sent to Italy and Spain at the height of the pandemic to secure supplies for the UK. But there was now a “risk to our supply chain”, without a deal “if EU hauliers don’t decide to come”.
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk