To ask His Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to prevent the introduction of the European Union’s Entry/Exit System causing transport congestion and disruption to freight.
My Lords, the European Union’s Entry/Exit System, EES, is now expected to be introduced in October 2025, with checks taking place on UK soil at the juxtaposed controls at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar. The Government continue to work closely with the authorities at those three places and the French authorities to ensure that EES is implemented successfully. In respect of freight, over 80% of HGV journeys from Britain to the EU are undertaken by foreign-registered vehicles. EU hauliers will not be required to complete EES checks.
I thank the Minister for his Answer, but, given the significant risk to UK exports, particularly “just in time” produce, what work are the Government doing with the French authorities and the European Commission to ensure that pre-registration systems are in place ahead of implementation to alleviate congestion and support smoother freight flows?
Of course, the primary aim of government has to be to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place at juxtaposed portals ahead of the implementation of the system. The EES is an EU-wide system. Although the EU has expressed a desire to explore pre-registration and we continue to work with European colleagues to encourage the development and adoption of an app, it is still in the early stages and will not be available at the start of implementation. However, even if there were an app, passengers would still need to attend a kiosk, booth or tablet to enrol biometrics, but of course the app would reduce the time taken for individuals to undertake full EES checks at the border, so it would be very desirable. We are urging them as hard as we can.
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that there is a facility at Stansted Airport that currently takes live racehorses, exporting them to the rest of Europe and further afield? For good reason, that has been requisitioned for other purposes, but there could be a period when those racehorses will not be able to move from East Anglia to the rest of Europe. Will he use his good offices to investigate this to make sure that a comparable facility is available without any delay to expediting flights of live racehorses, which bring much joy as well as being good for the East Anglian economy?
I am afraid it is a revelation to me that there is such a facility at Stansted, but, now that I know, I will go away and look at the noble Baroness’s remarks to see what can be done.
My Lords, Operation Brock causes absolute havoc around Kent, and the renewed and enhanced passport restrictions will inevitably cause delays. Can the Minister assure us that Operation Brock will not become a regular feature of life in that part of Kent?
Of course, one has to be very sympathetic about the considerable disruption that Brock causes. Since they took office, the Government have been thinking about what else can be done. My department has signed a contract with Lydden Hill racetrack to be a contingency site for the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum to incorporate into its traffic management plans, and we are also in negotiations with another site. But the primary thing that needs to happen is for the Port of Dover to finish its facility at Dover Western Docks. That was facilitated by an early action of this Government, and the work finally started in March 2025. It is in progress to be finished by 1 November, and it is monitored by my department and the Home Office weekly and by Ministers monthly.
My Lords, will the Government still require incoming freight vehicles to call at a place called Ashford Sevington to be checked, or will that be removed? At the moment, all incoming vehicles are supposed to be checked at Sevington but, of course, half of them just drive by up the motorway and are never seen again.
I thank my noble friend. I will have to take some advice on how that works; it is not immediately apparent that it is connected with the EES, but I will go away and answer his question in writing.
My Lords, following the concerns expressed about Operation Brock, it is worth recalling that the EU’s phased introduction of EES allows for temporary suspension at specific border points in the event of high traffic. Given that the UK’s traffic monitoring will give us advance notice of building problems at the juxtaposed borders in Dover and Folkestone, what assurance can the Minister give us that the Government have sought to ensure that French border officials will accept and use our traffic information when making a decision to suspend the EES?
The noble Lord is quite correct that there is considerable flexibility, certainly in the early days of the scheme, to suspend it for the benefit of traffic getting through. The juxtaposition of the French and British border controls is very helpful in that respect. With our current, better relationship with the French Government, I know that there is an intention both at the highest level and at a working level to do precisely what the noble Lord says so that the French can apply this flexibility at the right times for the benefit of traffic going through the ports and Eurotunnel.
My Lords, on the movement of trucks across EU borders, what developments, if any, have there been on sorting out the urgent question of cabotage for touring musicians, which the Minister’s department should be taking a keen interest in?
I am absolutely sure that my department is taking a keen interest in it. Again, this is not immediately connected with the European Entry/Exit System, but I would be very happy to write to the noble Earl and say what progress there has been.
My Lords, given that the Channel Tunnel has quite a lot of capacity, what consideration have the Government given to the increased use of the tunnel for rail freight? Will the Government’s strategy for increasing rail freight in this country include a proposal along those lines?
The noble Lord raises an excellent point. In fact, the Government and I are very active in encouraging more freight through the tunnel—and, indeed, more railway freight generally. Of course, as the noble Lord will know from our discussions on the then public ownership Bill and subsequently, the Government intend to give Great British Railways a target to increase rail freight, particularly in respect of the use of Eurotunnel. Both Eurotunnel and HS1 have the facility to discount track access charges for new freight. When I meet the freight community, as I do probably more often than the passenger operators —at least as a group—I regularly encourage and unfailingly remind it of this so that we can use the surplus capacity to which the noble Lord refers.