Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 25 October (HL10562), what is their forecast for the level of growth in (1) the UK’s port unit load traffic, and (2) port productivity for each of the next five years; and what is their forecast in the event of a no-deal outcome to the Brexit negotiations.

The Department for Transport is currently preparing port freight demand forecasts, and will publish these once complete. The Government does not produce forecasts of port productivity.

The Government expects to complete a withdrawal deal, but our aim in the event of a no-deal outcome is to ensure that unit-load traffic can continue to flow as expeditiously and efficiently as possible so that the volume of trade in aggregate can be maintained.