To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Penn on 5 January (HL4428 and HL4429), what assessment they have made of the cost to business in addition to the Trader Support Service.
Answered on
2 February 2023
The TSS is a free service to business and aims to remove additional cost burdens to business of the requirements of the Protocol.Data released in September 2022 in the Summary of movements of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain 2021, shows that over 90 per cent of declarations made for goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland were facilitated by the TSS. Further information is available on GOV.UKHMG recently conducted an extensive programme of business engagement in Summer 2022, speaking to over 200 businesses and representative organisations covering various sectors over several weeks, which confirmed that the Protocol is continuing to cause practical problems for traders.The Government is engaging in constructive dialogue with the European Union, with the aim of fixing those problems.