Customs check today Dover and Tunnel

[martin2603]

Today we have trucks parked up from Folkestone to Dover, waiting for Customs checks. Queuing beyond the Folkestone Services to the tunnel exit. !
Too warm for January. Or is my calendar wrong ???

 

[suavecarve]

They were queued quite a way last night going outbound as well

 

[nicholsong]

Is that for UK Customs outbound checks or for the French Customs, based in Dover, for their inbound checks?

Geoff

 

[Googlebot]

Get used to it I am afraid.

Government has just confirmed nothing is ready for January In regard to freight movement and customs systems. It’s just a taste of what is to come.

We are stocking up dried food already as there will be shortages as there was during the initial wave of Covid though I fear this time it will be far worse just as the second wave will be with us as well.

 

[2657]

Maybe a trial run for the super dooper IT system that is still in development!

This is part of an email from the RHA (Road Haulage Association) that I received last week.

Richard Burnett is the Chief Executive of the RHA

​ On Wednesday 2 September, the RHA wrote to Michael Gove MP, urging the need for Government to speed up the UK’s preparedness for post-transition trading arrangements.The next day, the issue made the front page of the Financial Times. It was subsequently Such is the importance of the issue that so far it has been broadcast over 200 times, had nearly 300 online mentions and has had over 2000 hits on Twitter. In case you missed yesterday's broadcasts, here's Richard Burnett's interview on Sky news - it's a comprehensive account of exactly what is needed before the end of the transition period at the end of the year. And already, Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, has committed to arranging an urgent roundtable meeting to discuss the issues. Sky News presenter Sarah Hewson: Hauliers are concerned about the slow progress on the new customs IT systems and border infrastructure they say is needed at UK ports before the end of the transition period. "Mr Burnett, you are warning of severe disruption from 1 January. What does that look like?" With only 84 working days to prepare for transition yes, we have huge IT and infrastructure issues, but we also have an enormous shortage of customs agents. We will be doing approximately 220 million additional customs declarations on top of the 50 million we already complete for the rest of the world and in order to do that we need another 50,000 customs agents. With just 84 days to recruit and train that number of people it means that we have an impossible task to be able to prepare and be ready by the end of the year. We will have traders that won’t be able to send their goods to Europe. If hauliers don’t have the correct paperwork, then they will be stopped and fined and we could well see queues and chaos at the borders. Goverment must listen. We still have significant issues that need to be resolved hence our letter to Michael Gove, Grant Shapps and Rishi Sunak. "The Government will say that they have spent £750 million and that they outlined a lot of the physical infrastructure back in July." We are still waiting to see and understand what that looks like and where the physical infrastructure is going to be. But regardless of the money they are promising, we are simply not prepared. Without the necessary systems and customs officials in place, businesses won't be able to trade with Europe because hauliers won't be able to move the goods. It’s as simple as that. "Have you had a response to your letter?" No response yet but I was on the Today programme this morning and I understand that Grant Shapps was interviewed after me and that he agreed to arrange a roundtable discussion with the logistics industry. But we don’t want just another meeting, we want real discussion. We want them to listen and we want to make sure that there is a clear action plan to unblock the state aid. The £50 million that government has committed to try and recruit more customs agents before the end of the year isn’t enough to give us anywhere near the number of customs agents we need to get this motoring and to get this issue supported. "You mention state aid. I know it’s one of the sticking points of the current negotiations. Do you think that Government that understands the detail?" No, government doesn’t understand the detail despite us constantly raising the issue. We've had many meetings with the Border Delivery Group, with HMRC, with the Department for Transport and we talk about the practical issues from an operational perspective. But it always seems to get lost and we don’t get the right responses. That’s why we are trying to escalate this issue so that Cabinet members can understand the severity of the problem. "What you are describing all depends on there being some kind of agreement. What if there is no deal?" Deal or no deal, we are still going to have to put these processes in place. We still have to adapt, and we still need to make sure that these procedures are ready for 1 January. The EU have made it very clear that they will be putting full processes in place and we must do the same. We have taken the slightly more relaxed approach in terms of EU into the UK, but we have to be prepared and ready and it doesn’t alter the position in terms of where we sit today.

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[Red Dragon]

I think Boris is being very clever, what an amazing way to make "The Country" lose "Weigh"

 

[martin2603]

Now informed that this a terrorist threat at the port!!

 

[DiggerJon]

So it's all going to be OK by January 1st then? As ready as the Covid testing system has been/is/will be? Oh I do love political promises!

 

[nicholsong]

Now informed that this a terrorist threat at the port!!

So is this information source any more reliable than your 'customs' information source?

 

[Brains]

So is this information source any more reliable than your 'customs' information source?

A quick look at google maps with the traffic setting switched on will conform that trafic is being stacked on the M20 back to Maidstone and on the M2 back to Canterbury.

The M20/A20 between Folkstone and Dover is static.
A20 outside Dover port is now closed at the Western Heights roundabout

12.21 today Kent Police are standing down from an 'incident' at the port
Live feed Here

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[ctc]

Don't worry it's oven ready and world class.

 

[The general]

Bring it on

 

[PeteH]

One has to wonder just how much is truth and how much is just more "anti" B-S?.

 

[glenn2926]

Get used to it I am afraid.

Government has just confirmed nothing is ready for January In regard to freight movement and customs systems. It’s just a taste of what is to come.

We are stocking up dried food already as there will be shortages as there was during the initial wave of Covid though I fear this time it will be far worse just as the second wave will be with us as well.

Bye, ill bet you’re a barrel of laughs at parties.

 

[The general]

As I have said many a time , it will all come out in the wash , as for travelling to the foreign country ( euroland ) hopefully next year I got all the time in the world being retired . Red tape never stopped me in the past on my travels, can’t see it in the future ?

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[Brains]

One has to wonder just how much is truth and how much is just more "anti" B-S?.

This has nothing to do with B-S.

There was some sort of an 'incident' at Dover/Folkstone.
I'd guess the Police were looking for a particular cargo or individual.
Therefore a lot more freight was checked than was normal which slowed down the lorries per hour rate through the port.
Due to the queues the Police instigated Operation Stack in the early hours of this morning.
By mid day, as all could see on Google maps traffic setting, miles and miles of the M20 and M2 were stationary.
At 12.30 the Police action was stood down.
Traffic is now moving normally, but obviously there is now a massive backlog of trucks waiting to clear customs, which I guess will take until late tonight or tomorrow morning to clear.

Actually it's probably been quite a good dress rehearsal of what is expected to happen in January.

 

[PeteH]

This has nothing to do with B-S.

There was some sort of an 'incident' at Dover/Folkstone.
I'd guess the Police were looking for a particular cargo or individual.
Therefore a lot more freight was checked than was normal which slowed down the lorries per hour rate through the port.
Due to the queues the Police instigated Operation Stack in the early hours of this morning.
By mid day, as all could see on Google maps traffic setting, miles and miles of the M20 and M2 were stationary.
At 12.30 the Police action was stood down.
Traffic is now moving normally, but obviously there is now a massive backlog of trucks waiting to clear customs, which I guess will take until late tonight or tomorrow morning to clear.

Actually it's probably been quite a good dress rehearsal of what is expected to happen in January.

Ah!. That was the incident, I was referencing the recent RHA statement. Which was suggesting that a situation of Y2K proportion is going to happen come Jan 1st.

 

[Googlebot]

Bye, ill bet you’re a barrel of laughs at parties.

No need to be personal, there is an ignore button you can use. In fact, I am just about to use it....

 

[The general]

Thank you Kent police and ‘ terrorist squad ‘ in fact all of the authorities in keeping us safe .

 

[PeteH]

As I have said many a time , it will all come out in the wash , as for travelling to the foreign country ( euroland ) hopefully next year I got all the time in the world being retired . Red tape never stopped me in the past on my travels, can’t see it in the future ?

I do remember a time before the "big con trick" no more hassle than going to countries outside the E zone. Only the intransigence of those who's noses feel out of joint will make a difference now?.

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[2657]

Ah!. That was the incident, I was referencing the recent RHA statement. Which was suggesting that a situation of Y2K proportion is going to happen come Jan 1st.

I think that the RHA might have a little more insight into the preparedness of hauliers, importers and exporters than you or I.

 

[2657]

I do remember a time before the "big con trick" no more hassle than going to countries outside the E zone. Only the intransigence of those who's noses feel out of joint will make a difference now?.

Methinks the volume of trade in those far off halcyon days was a tad less than the 11000 lorries a day that now use the tunnel and Dover sea crossings.
In those days of T forms etc there were many customs agents in the port that could amend mistakes, which were plentiful, on these forms, none now!

I know that in theory all this should be done online prior to arrival but as yet no such software infrastructure is in place.

The history of large scale new software infrastcture is not good, remember the NHS, cost millions and never did work.

Apparently the government are planning for a worst case scenario of 7000 trucks queued in Kent, and I do know what a worst case scenario means.

 

[Rob Hammond]

Methinks the volume of trade in those far off halcyon days was a tad less than the 11000 lorries a day that now use the tunnel and Dover sea crossings.
In those days of T forms etc there were many customs agents in the port that could amend mistakes, which were plentiful, on these forms, none now!

I know that in theory all this should be done online prior to arrival but as yet no such software infrastructure is in place.

The history of large scale new software infrastcture is not good, remember the NHS, cost millions and never did work.

Apparently the government are planning for a worst case scenario of 7000 trucks queued in Kent, and I do know what a worst case scenario means.

And how many trucks will be queuing in Calais .

 

[2657]

And how many trucks will be queuing in Calais .

No idea, the article that I read was focusing on the UK governments planning, or lack of it.

 

[The general]

So so many people worried , it’s a nations favourite pass time

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[2657]

So so many people worried , it’s a nations favourite pass time

Perhaps you might worry a little if your livelyhood depended on it

 

[The general]

I done my shift

 

[2657]

I done my shift

So have a lot of us but that doesn't mean that we don't think about others!

 

[busby]

Perhaps you might worry a little if your livelyhood depended on it

I really would but thank goodness those days are gone BUSBY

 

[Brains]

Ah!. That was the incident, I was referencing the recent RHA statement. Which was suggesting that a situation of Y2K proportion is going to happen come Jan 1st.

I was heavily involved in the Y2K debacle.
I spent 36 strait hours on New years Eve 2000 in a fully staffed IT Support center dealing with calls from all over the world as the time zone rolled around.
It was only due to the massive amount of upgrading and re-writing that was done in the years before the date that a global catastrophe was averted.
Luckily the private sector rose to the occasion and there was very little major failure.

The same can not be said for the other debacle which has also been predicted for years.

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