The UK’s Freight Transport Association (FTA) has criticised the British government’s no-deal Brexit funding plans, which allocate £108mn (out of a total £2.1bn) to support businesses in their preparations for the change.
Deputy chief executive James Hookham said: “The government’s no-deal funding for business, announced [on] 1 August 2019, falls well short of what will be required to ensure that all those organisations which currently trade with the EU will be able to continue operating smoothly and efficiently in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.”
He went on: “5% of the fund allocated by the Treasury today equates to only £745 per business – far less than will be needed for each business to understand and implement the procedures, staff and systems required for routine no-deal trading.
“The allowances announced may enable the government to say they have helped business, but the reality once again leaves logistics operators carrying the burden of adapting to and adopting new operating procedures at the last minute (many of the industry’s issues are still to be answered by government), and potentially carrying the can for a lack of government planning.
“Industry deserves and needs the appropriate boost, rather than the damp squib promised today,” Hookham urged.
