Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to prevent companies recruiting already-qualified custom brokers from other companies under the Recruitment Grant scheme.

The Government is supporting the intermediary sector to expand to meet predicted demand at the end of the transition period, making available over £80m of support for IT, training and recruitment.

The sector is varied and made up of a number of different business models including specific customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators; all of which will require varied numbers of staff and operate in different ways. The scheme allows maximum flexibility in order to meet the needs of different business models.

The Government continues to monitor the uptake of the scheme and its impact on the market, and keeps the rules for operation under review.