News

UK no deal plans to hit ports

Published

4 years ago

July 20, 2020

TRADE negotiations between the UK and EU continued in London last week.
The talks, aimed at reaching agreement on the future relationship between the two after December 31, appear no further forward. The EU has, however, significantly upped the ante between Westminster and Brussels.
The EU announced it will impose full border customs checks from January next year. The chief trading port between the UK and Europe (to Dominic Raab’s horrified surprise in his former post as Brexit Secretary) is Dover.
If the EU insists on customs checks on goods entering from the UK, there will be delays in Calais. Delays in Calais will inevitably lead to delays at Dover. Because of the physical constraints of the Port at Dover and the relatively poor road transport infrastructure leading to it, delays at Dover could lead to severe traffic problems on the town’s approach roads and also on the wider road network in England’s south east.
The Government, to howls of anguish from Conservative MPs in the south of England, is already preparing significant traffic control measures and advancing plans for a massive lorry park in Ashford, Kent, which voted 60-40 to leave the EU and knew what it was getting.
AS IN DOVER…
The chief ferry ports in Wales are in Holyhead, Fishguard, and Pembroke Dock: all of them will be affected by the new customs procedure, which runs a coach and horses through the Prime Minister’s guarantee of no border in the Irish Sea.
Stena has already expressed concern about the limited space available to it to hold lorries at Fishguard and Holyhead. Former border check areas in Holyhead were built over and physical constraints at Fishguard militate against further expansion there.
The situation at Pembroke Dock is slightly different, in that there remains room to expand the holding facilities due to the Royal Dockyard’s physical footprint.
Any delays, however, would have a continuing knock-on effect on the speed at which freight could be carried from the Port without a seamless customs procedure.

PM SAID NO CHECKS

Last December, PM Boris Johnson disavowed the content of a Treasury document which said border checks on goods transported from the island of Ireland would be necessary.
He claimed that under the deal he negotiated no checks were necessary and the expert report was ‘wrong’.
The Government has long since reneged on promises regarding trade between Northern Ireland and the UK mainland and now the EU is ensuring Mr Johnson’s government sticks to the agreement it negotiated, presumably in good faith, or leaves without a deal.
“Government-commissioned research for the Port of Dover carried out by University College London concluded a 70-second questioning and inspection of lorries entering Britain would lead to six-day-long queues,” said WTO Director Keith Rockwell.
“UK Government analysis says average trade costs will rise by 13% (10% on non-tariff barriers) and they predict a 37% decline in trade volume.”
Mr Rockwell also pointed out that the WTO would have a say over any attempt to strike an interim deal with the EU ahead of thrashing out final details on tariff agreements and market access.

A CHANGE OF TUNE

Until last weekend, the Westminster Government insisted that claims there would be customs checks were so much hot air. However, over the weekend, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove appeared on television, on radio, and in print, to set out how the Government proposes to tackle an entirely foreseeable problem of its own making.
Having engaged in fanciful suggestions that the UK would use non-existent technological solutions to cross-border trade, the meat finally met the metal as the Government faced up to the outcome of its failure to abide by the terms of an agreement it signed only last October.
Mr Gove promised £700m to address the issue. It was not clear whether the whole of the £700m was new money or whether the jobs the investment is supposed to create were already accounted for in Westminster’s so-far-failed attempt to recruit Border Patrol staff. Some of the money for ports’ infrastructure had already either been spent or announced previously.
Whatever the answer, the problems are clear.
Goods will pass more slowly through ports with knock-on effects for the UK’s supply chain and manufacturers. Haulage companies face significant problems in complying with the limits on drivers’ working time if delays prove intractable. Increased haulage costs and bureaucracy will, inevitably, lead to price rises for products’ end users and ordinary consumers.

HALF-BAKED DEAL NOT DONE

While the Prime Minister spent much of November and December’s General Election campaign trumpeting his ‘over-ready’ deal, since the election his government has tried to distance itself as much as possible from what it agreed upon with the EU in October 2019. Mr Johnson’s deal now appears not so much ‘oven-ready’ as half-baked.
The current suggestion is a so-called pre-lodgement model, where customs declarations are submitted electronically in advance, before a truck is allowed to enter the port and board a ferry.
Companies have to get a reference number from a new and untested IT platform which, with fewer than six months to go to the transition period’s end, is still being developed.
The UK Government’s record in the procurement and delivery of major IT projects is un-encouraging.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Government has given traders a six-month grace period on complying with new red tape for EU imports. However, the EU has said it will impose full controls on exports from the U.K. as soon as it completes its split from the bloc, due on Jan. 1.

INDUSTRY REACTS

Commenting, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “RHA members, and traders in general, need clarity on how they will be expected to run their businesses from January 2021.
“What worries us is that at the moment, the UK hasn’t hired anything like the number of customs agents needed to process the new form-filling.
“The UK is very slow off the starting blocks on hiring thousands of staff to do this vital work. If we don’t tackle this fast it’s a recipe for disruption to the supply chain post-transition which affects us all.
“Even if the new agents are hired trained by 31 December, firms still don’t know what forms will be required, how they should be completed, who should complete which forms, or where they will need to be sent.
“This is vital information that firms need to have as soon as possible, and should already have received if they’re to have enough time to prepare for the new trading arrangements with the EU.
“The RHA is again repeating its demands for clarity from the Government, who simply must provide this vital information if the UK supply chain is to continue to operate smoothly from January 1, 2021.”
Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive of the British Ports Association, welcomed Mr Gove’s announcement of further invest, but added: “Borders infrastructure of course means there will be some impact on freight and potentially flows of traffic. We therefore pressing for the pragmatic enforcement of such processes so that trucks and cargo are not held up at our ports. Of course there is still a huge amount to prepare for and operators across the freight and logistics sectors will need to understand what will be required and what this will mean for their businesses.
“Port operators are keen to see the detail of our future borders arrangements. The Government is setting out its new Border Operating Model and a new publicity campaign for the freight sector and we look forward to discussing these with officials.
“About half of our trade is with the EU and so this is why we need to get the arrangements right.”

Community

County Hall to offer space for community banking

Published

12 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Bruce Sinclair Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to potentially change its banking arrangement with Barclays, after it closed its Haverfordwest branch has been turned down, but County Hall is to offer space for community banking.

Barclays Bank, on the town’s High Street, is to close on May 10.

The council has had a banking services contract with Barclays since 2013.

Councillor Huw Murphy, in a notice of motion heard by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting of April 22, asked the council to review its banking arrangements with Barclays following the announced closure.

e said the loss of a branch “not only impacts upon town centres and businesses but also disproportionately impacts the elderly who are less likely to embrace on-line banking options”.

A report for Cabinet members said, in terms of the impact on Pembrokeshire residents, Barclays has said that it is “not leaving Haverfordwest and [will] continue to provide face-to-face support for those who need it” via community locations.

Two options were presented to Cabinet: to retender the banking services contract, and, the favoured, to work with Barclays to ensure a community location is set up in Haverfordwest.

Members heard the costs associated with moving to a new banking service provider could be in excess of £50,000.

For the second, favoured option, members heard Barclays was in discussions with the council about a location for potential community banking.

Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance Cllr Alec Cormack, after outlining the risks in the report for members, and moving the notice be not adopted, said he had “considerable sympathy” with Cllr Murphy’s notice.

He told councillors there was a glimmer of light for banking arrangements in the county, with an agreement now signed for two ground floor rooms at County Hall, Haverfordwest, to be used for community banking.

From April 25, the rooms will be available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, members heard.

Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery Cllr Jon Harvey also said he had “a lot of sympathy” for the motion, adding: “It’s excellent news a deal has been struck to occupy the ground floor rooms three days a week; hopefully this will mitigate, to a certain amount, the closure.

“If we can work with the respective banks to get a community-type approach let’s move forward.”

News

Haverfordwest interchange: Next stage of £19m project backed

Published

12 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Bruce Sinclair Local Democracy Reporter

The second stage of building Haverfordwest’s near-£19m transport interchange has been backed, with senior councillors hearing it could cost the council more to not support it.

The transport interchange, which includes an integrated bus station and construction of a new multi-storey car park, is part of a wider series of regeneration projects in the county town.

The total cost of the scheme in the approved budget is £18.881m, £1.987m from Pembrokeshire County Council; the remainder, £16.894m, from an already-awarded Welsh Government grant.

To date, £3.425m has been spent on advanced works, including the demolition of the old multi-storey car park and a temporary bus station.

Members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, meeting on April 22, were recommended to approve the award of the Stage 2 construction contract for the Haverfordwest Transport Interchange.

The report for members listed two simple options for Cabinet, to authorise the award of a contract, recommended, or to not.

For the latter it warned: “It is envisaged Welsh Government will withdraw the funding awarded and the council would need to repay grants received to date; £10.322m has been received to date of which £3.376m has been offset against expenditure.”

It added: “Cost to cease this project could cost PCC more in terms of grant repayment and any capital work required to make good. PCC match contribution for the project is forecast as £1.987m of the £18.881m.”

Planning permission for the interchange was granted in 2022, with a temporary bus station constructed that year and the old multi-storey building demolished in 2023.

That year, members of the county council’s Cabinet agreed a temporary car park will be sited on the demolished remains of the old multi-storey car park until the Haverfordwest Public Transport Interchange – delayed as no compliant tender had been found at the time – is built.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller said: “The interchange is an important part of the regeneration of Haverfordwest, it will not regenerate Haverfordwest on its own, it is part of a wider process. The alternative to us being engaged is we simply allow it to decline and fail.”

He said the interchange was about “making it easier to visit Haverfordwest,” making parking provision “really straightforward, making it easy and convenient as possible”.

Cllr Miller said not progressing with the scheme would risk the grants already obtained, meaning the council could potentially foot the bill for costs to date, at a greater level than progressing.

He said the cost options were a near-£2m subsidised council involvement for the whole scheme or the £3m-plus spent to date if the scheme was ended, which would leave the car park as it is now.

“It’s pretty reasonable that if they give us the money and we don’t build a transport interchange they’ll be looking for that money back,” Cllr Miller said.

He said previous figures from parking revenue – back in 2019 – amounted to £100,000 a year; and could be expected to at least double on a “like-for-like” basis following the increase in parking charges.

Members, after a private and confidential session over the actual contract details, agreed to proceed with the scheme, awarding the contract to Kier Construction Western and Wales.

Charity

RNLI prepare for summer with medical training exercise in Pembrokeshire

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RNLI lifeguards from the north Pembrokeshire team, volunteers from St Davids RNLI and St Davids Coastguard Rescue Team came together at Whitesands beach on Thursday (18 April), for a multi-agency medical training exercise. Pembrokeshire RNLI lifeguards and St Davids volunteer lifeboat crew took part in a multi-agency medical training exercise alongside St Davids Coastguard Rescue Team in preparation for the upcoming summer season.

The Coastal Medicine programme was set up six years ago at the suggestion of clinicians from Hywel Dda University Health Board. The aim of the programme is train lifeguards, lifeboat crews and HM Coastguard teams in working collaboratively when responding to medical incidents on the coast.

Clinicians from Hywel Dda work with RNLI staff to design exercises simulating mass-casualty incidents on land and afloat. The exercises allow lifeguards, lifeboat crews and Coastguard teams to practise and test their rescue response and casualty care.

The simulated incident at Whitesands involved a medical incident at sea leading to a boat going out of control and ploughing through a group of swimmers causing multiple injuries. RNLI lifeguards responded to casualties on the beach while St Davids inshore and all-weather lifeboat crews dealt with the situation at sea. St Davids Coastguard Rescue supported RNLI colleagues as they would in a real-life scenario.

In total there were six casualties to treat, all of whom were given the immediate medical care by the teams on scene. As in a real-life scenario, they were then prepared to be handed over to the care of the Ambulance Service.

Roger Smith, RNLI Area Lifesaving Manager said: ‘The scenario was based on a real-life incident, it’s so important that we train in dealing with challenging situations.

‘The RNLI lifeguards, lifeboat crew, and the Coastguard rescue team worked really well together collaborating together to achieve the best possible result.

‘The feedback from all the participants was really positive, and our medical colleagues were very complimentary about the competence shown and the inter-agency co-operation.

‘This scenario training gives confidence to our lifeguards and lifeboat crews, and ensures the teamwork and communication is already in place ready for real-life incidents.’

Martin Charlton, an RNLI lifeguard in north Pembrokeshire said:

‘Last night’s exercise was a great opportunity for me and my colleagues on the lifeguard team to upskill ahead of the summer season.

‘We regularly attend incidents in the season that require a multi-agency response. These scenarios are a brilliant opportunity to prepare for the the most challenging situations.