Brexit has failed to 'take back control of our border' and caused unnecessary cost to business, report finds

Brexit has failed to “take control of our border” and the new import checks have caused unnecessary cost to business, a damning new report has found.

The National Audit Office has found that the government’s repeated changes to post-Brexit border controls have caused uncertainty for traders and extra costs for taxpayers and the ports. Head of the NAO, Gareth Davies, said that “more than three years after the end of the transition period, it is still not clear when full controls will be in place”.

Businesses have been scathing about the government’s implementation of the new border checks, saying they have been “left in the dark” and have hit out at additional costs and red tape. While British goods exported into the EU have been subject to controls following Brexit, checks the other way have been delayed five times over fears they may cause inflation.

Earlier this year, importers started to pay up to £145 to bring small amounts of products such as cheese, salami and fish through the port of Dover or the Eurotunnel. Certain medium-risk shipments and all high-risk animal products will be transferred to a government outpost in Sevington, Kent, more than 20 miles from Dover, where they will be assessed.

This is all part of the government’s border target operation model (TOM), which it has said will become the most advanced system in the world. The NAO’s report into this is damning.

It has found that despite spending at least £4.7 billion on the new controls, the government has still not yet specified when it intends to have a full regime in place. The NAO said: “The repeated delays in introducing import controls, and difficulties forecasting requirements, have resulted in government expenditure on infrastructure and staff that were ultimately not needed. Late announcements about policy and uncertainty about the implementation of controls have also reduced the ability of businesses and ports to prepare for changes.

Though post EU exit border processes (including the introduction of full customs controls) have operated relatively smoothly, businesses trading goods between the UK and the EU have faced additional costs and administrative burdens.”

Businesses have repeatedly told NationalWorld of their concerns around the additional red tape. Paolo Arrigo is managing director of Seeds of Italy, which imports the historic Italian Franchi seed brand to the UK. He sells endangered, regional and heritage seed varieties to wholesalers, garden centres and the Royal Horticultural Society.

“These are living things,” he said. “They can't sit on hot lorries for hours and hours waiting for inspections. All of these extra things, delays, cost money. I’m despondent - we feel like we’ve been thrown under the bus.”

The report found that UK businesses have spent an estimated £7.5 billion completing customs declarations on post-Brexit trade to the EU, according to HMRC. And the government says traders have forked out £54 million on sanitary and phytosanitary certificates from January 2021 to December 2023. When the UK was part of the EU, neither of these pieces of paperwork were required.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “The UK leaving the EU created a large-scale change in arrangements for the movement of goods across the border. However, more than three years after the end of the transition period, it is still not clear when full controls will be in place.

“The border strategy has ambitious plans to use technology and data to facilitate trade while managing risks. To achieve its objectives, government requires strong delivery and accountability – including a more realistic approach to digital transformation – together with effective monitoring to enable future improvements.”

While Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, added: “A key promise of Brexit was that we would take back control of our border. Yet more than three years after the end of the transition period, full import controls are still not in place.

“Delays and changes in direction have caused unnecessary costs to government and businesses. As the PAC often sees across government, this could have been avoided with a clearer vision and better planning. Most controls will finally start operating this year. Government must now turn its attention to delivering its 2025 UK Border Strategy and improving the operation of the UK border.”

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.