Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures HMRC (a) has and (b) plans to put in place for validating goods from Great Britain presented on the red lane at (i) Belfast, (ii) Larne, (iii) Warrenpoint and (iv) Foyle for release into the EU Single Market; how many (A) HMRC members of staff and (B) other government employees will be employed at the four ports to discharge these procedures from August 2025; what port infrastructure (1) has been (2) is being built at (a) Belfast, (b) Larne, (c) Warrenpoint and (d) Foyle to facilitate the discharging of these procedures; what the cost to the public purse has been of the construction of that infrastructure; and whether that infrastructure is (A) completed, (B) operational and (C) under construction.

Goods moving from Great Britain to the EU via Northern Ireland will complete a full customs declaration and pay the applicable rate of duty, subject to any waivers or reliefs, as an international goods movement. These customs declarations are validated electronically by HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS).

There are no HMRC employed staff at ports in Northern Ireland, and HMRC does not have, and is not building, any port infrastructure at ports in Northern Ireland.