To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2020 to Question 118090 on Railways, what specific risks his Department has identified that could affect the rail industry and rail network in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered on
30 November 2020
The Government put in place a broad range of rail statutory instruments to provide certainty and clarity to rail operators on the domestic rail regulatory framework in the event of a non-negotiated outcome with the EU. Given there is no rail-specific chapter in the UK-EU negotiations, impacts on the rail sector of a non-negotiated outcome will relate to cross-cutting risks such as, for example, access to skilled workers as a result of changes to labour mobility arrangements, changes to trading arrangements for rail-related goods and services, and supply chain disruption related to changes in customs and border arrangements from 1 January 2021.
Department officials have been engaging closely with rail industry stakeholders since the EU Referendum to ensure they are fully prepared for a non-negotiated outcome. Industry stakeholders have developed appropriate contingency arrangements and are now well prepared for the end of the Transition Period.