Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent analysis she has undertaken of the competitiveness of UK border processes compared with those of key trading partners.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is a member of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and a contracting party to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
The UK is fully committed to the standards set by the WCO and the obligations set out in the TFA. The TFA aims to modernise and simplify international trade procedures to reduce costs, delays, and uncertainties at borders.
The UK also engaged constructively with the WTO’s recent Trade Policy Review of the UK. Further information on which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/united-kingdoms-trade-policy-review-closing-statement-from-the-uk
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of expanding digital customs clearance systems on levels of administration undertaken by UK traders.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC uses the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) to manage the clearance of goods. This digital service successfully handles millions of customs declarations every month.
No specific assessment of the potential impact of expanding digital customs clearance systems on levels of administration undertaken by UK traders has been undertaken. Estimates of the administrative burden of import and export declarations for trade between Great Britain and the European Union are published at the following link: Estimating the customs administrative burden of 2022 declarations - GOV.UK.
HMRC is committed to making customs processes as simple as possible while ensuring effective checks are in place at the border, and we continue to work closely with the border industry to streamline processes and support the flow of legitimate goods.
The Government recognises the benefits from trade digitalisation for business and management of the goods border. The UK was the first G7 country to put electronic trade documents on the same legal footing as paper documents. The Trade Strategy sets out plans to make sure government and traders alike harness digitalisation to speed up and simplify process. As part of this HMRC is working with industry partners to test how commercial data drawn directly from electronic paperwork can be read and processed by HMRC to meet customs requirements.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department offers protection to staff from unfair dismissal from their first working day.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMT staff must have completed 2 years’ service to be protected against unfair dismissal.
The new Employment Rights Bill will amend the law on unfair dismissal to protect staff from their first working day.
HMT will implement this legislative change when it comes into force.