Ready for what?
The news that the Brexit Select Committee has criticised the lack of preparedness ahead of January 1st shouldn’t be news to anyone, we all know the Government has done far too little to prepare. We have already been told it will have to wave thousands of lorries a day through its ports after Brexit for at least the first 6 months and that it is planning to limit access to Kent for lorries if they don’t have the right documents to allow them to cross the Channel. Not the kind of thing well prepared countries have to do.
None of this is about whether the UK gets a trade deal or not. All of these things happen even if we do have one, as does the urgent need for far more vets at our borders, more customs officers, many more customs agents ( hardly any of whom have been trained yet), new computer systems which don’t work yet and a dozen other issues.
Doubtless ministers are rehearsing the blame game already and it is business that they will criticise. But Government itself has done far too little far too late, France is apparently incredulous at the lack of progress on this side of the Channel, it has 500 new customs staff ready and waiting. The UK has wasted 4 years and now has two weeks left.
https://jonty.substack.com/