Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of demand for trade compliance professionals following the UK’s departure from the EU.

The customs intermediary sector has significantly increased their capacity to meet demand following the introduction of full customs controls from 1 January 2022.

HMRC is closely monitoring the capacity of the sector, and its ability to respond to demand, through regular engagement and surveys. HMRC continue to engage closely with the sector to understand how it is responding and keep their support measures under constant close review.

HMRC publishes an intermediary register to make traders aware of businesses offering customs services. The register shows whether the intermediary is taking on clients and the services they offer including out of hours support. As of 26 April 2022, there are 1622 intermediaries. 987 say they have capacity to take on new business.