Boris Johnson’s government has scrapped the introduction of planned post-Brexit inspections on food coming into the UK from the EU, cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced.
In a written statement to the Commons, the Brexit opportunities minister said the controls set to come into force on 1 July would not be enforced during 2022.
“No further import controls on EU goods will be introduced this year – businesses can stop their preparations for July now,” Mr Rees-Mogg said.
Mr Rees-Mogg suggested the government planned a complete overhaul of its border check plans – revealing that end of 2023 was the target for a brand new “controls regime”.
The Independent revealed last month that the government was set to push back the import controls because of growing fears they will exacerbate the cost of living crisis.
Mr Rees-Mogg pointed to living cost pressures as a major reason for the move – but blamed rising costs on “Russia’s war in Ukraine and in energy prices”.
The Brexit opportunities minister added: “It would therefore be wrong to impose new administrative burdens and risk disruption at ports and to supply chains at this point.”
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks planned for on 1 July would have seen checks on imported agri-food and plant imports, adding an estimated £1bn to the costs of trade.
There were also concerns that British ports do not have the necessary infrastructure – or veterinary experts – needed for the rigorous new checks, which involve random physical inspections.
The Cold Chain Federation and the British Meat Processors were among the industry groups calling for the checks – already delayed there times – to be pushed back again this year, calling the extra controls a “nightmare” for small firms.
The Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the government’s decision on Thursday. “This move will give them more time to prepare for future changes and reassess supply chains,” said chair Martin McTague.
Despite spending millions on Border Control Posts, Mr Rees-Mogg said the government would “accelerate” plans to “digitise Britain’s borders” in an attempt to reduce ongoing trade fiction.
Cold Chain Federation chief Shane Brennan also backed the government U-turn, saying the checks “would have made a bad situation much worse”. He welcomed Mr Rees-Mogg’s commitment to “rethink the way these controls work”.
Meanwhile, Europe minister James Cleverly told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that the UK and EU are at an impasse over changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“The truth is that we have come to something of an impasse, and I don’t think that’s through a lack of goodwill, and I think it’s more through what we regard in the UK as an overly limited (EU) negotiating mandate,” he said.
Of the protocol, Mr Cleverly said: “It is not working. It is not doing what it was meant to do … and that by extension is causing community tensions in NI, which we feel need to be addressed.”
Warning of potential violence ahead, Mr Cleverly said: “Many of us lived through The Troubles. We are absolutely determined to protect Good Friday Agreement and not go back to that point in time.”
But the minister would not give away any details of the draft bill reportedly being drawn up to unilaterally “tear up” parts of the protocol that Mr Johnson’s government doesn’t like.
“We’re looking at a range of options about what we can do to ease these tensions – I don’t want to go further than that,” he said.
