Q&A for 2025 UK Border Strategy public consultation launch

What is the 2025 UK Border Strategy?

The Government has set out an ambition to transform the UK border into the world’s most effective by 2025. The 2025 UK Border Strategy will set out how this ambition will be achieved.

 Who does the 2025 UK Border Strategy consultation target?

Businesses and organisations with an interest in the border including:

·      UK businesses who import or export

·      International businesses who want to invest in the UK

·      The Border industry and its representative bodies

·      Technology firms who could help revolutionise how the border is delivered

·      Logistics firms and those who support others move goods across cross-border supply chains

·      Organisations who depend on the movement of goods or people across the UK border

·      Groups representing commercial and leisure travellers

What are the benefits of the 2025 UK Border Strategy?

By working with stakeholders and taking a strategic, long-term approach to transform the border we can take advantage of technological trends to:

·      Reduce administrative costs and burdens for legitimate traders to improve the end-to-end experience for those moving goods across the UK border

·      Improve user-experience for legitimate travellers, how we safeguard vulnerable people and protect the UK from those who may pose a risk to us.

·      Enhance how the border can be used to protect the public, businesses, health and the environment

·      Provide the border industry with long-term certainty to guide investment and deliver better services for their customers

·      improving how we protect the UK from those who may pose a risk to us, for example by deterring and disrupting organised crime and terrorism, identifying and preventing biosecurity threats, and preventing abuse of the migration system

Why is Government engaging with us on 2025 when 2020/2021 remains unclear?

We know that stakeholders are eager to understand the long-term vision for the border by the time that the UK’s Transition Period with the European Union ends on 31 December 2020. A 2025 strategy and roadmap to it will help industry and users of the border develop their own plans for the future. The consultation and engagement over the summer will ensure that those who deliver and use the border will have the chance to shape thinking and develop a 2025 border that delivers user’s needs.

What is the cost of this activity?

The cost of this activity will be determined through Government’s formal spending review process.

What is the difference between the Border Operating Model and the Target Operating Model?

The 2020 Border Operating Model published on 13 July 2020 details the operation of the UK border from the end of the Transition Period with staged implementation of controls. The Target Operating Model will be produced through this work to demonstrate how Government will operationally work to deliver the 2025 UK Border Strategy’s aim of the world’s most effective border by 2025.

How does the Strategy take into the account the new approach on staged implementation of border controls?

The Operating Model in place for the end of the Transition Period with staged implementation of controls will form the baseline which the 2025 Border Strategy and Target Operating Model will build on to develop the world’s most effective border by 2025.

Departments, and BPDG, are working closely together to ensure that preparations for the end of the Transition Period, subsequent staged implementation of border controls, and development of the 2025 Strategy are aligned. BPDG will be working across Government and industry to develop a detailed roadmap between 2020 and 2025.

How will the Strategy interact with the Northern Ireland Protocol?

The 2025 Border Strategy sets out the Government’s objectives for the border for the whole of the UK, and for the movements of goods and people across the UK’s external borders.

From the end of the Transition Period, the 2020 Border Operating Model and the Northern Ireland Protocol will come into operation and form the baseline from which the 2025 UK Border Strategy will continue.

The Border Protocol and Delivery Group BPDG will work in partnership with the Northern Ireland

Executive, the Northern Ireland Office and other government departments to fully understand the interplay between the Strategy and the Protocol. Where aspects of the 2025 Border Strategy and Target Operating Model could support future approach to the requirements stemming from the Protocol, these will be explored.

Our business is still trying to deal with the repercussions of COVID-19 and preparations for the end of the year. We do not have time to respond to your consultation especially over the summer months.

We appreciate there have been many challenges in 2020. We also know that businesses who deliver and use the border are eager to understand the future of the border before the end of the Transition Period. If your organisation does not have capacity to respond to the consultation, we would be happy to hear your thoughts directly through more detailed engagement forums. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

What examples of potential projects do you have which would sit under each of the six major transformations?

This is where your expertise and experience will help us. Although there are some projects already in train that we know the Strategy will include, e.g. the implementation of the Single Trade Window and improving how we collect, share and analyse data across Government, we want to hear your ideas for projects, deliverables and changes that you think would enable us to achieve the world’s most effective border by 2025.

Why are you engaging with us when it looks like Government has already decided what they want to deliver through the 2025 Border Strategy?

Although we have suggested the vision, mission, objectives and potential transformations for the 2025 Border Strategy, we want to use the consultation to test these elements with you and to get your ideas for projects and innovative ideas that would allow us to deliver the world’s most effective border. None of the material is yet set in stone but we wanted to have some initial ideas to test. We welcome your views, expertise and experience to shape this work with Government as we recognise the importance of working closely with you on this.

What is the difference between the 2025 UK Border Strategy and Future Borders?

The Future Borders Programme is a delivery arm of BPDG that is developing technological and innovative solutions that will enable HMG to achieve the objectives of the 2025 Border Strategy as well as early deliverables for December 2020. The current focus of the Future Borders Programme includes:

·      Single Trade Window - Making trade easier and compliant by enabling traders to access and fulfil import/export government processes, requirements and data needs in one place

·      Smart Insights - turning data captured across government into insights for analysis, planning and flow purposes; this includes development of analytical tools for the border, including Border Flow and Digital Twin, enabled by a cross-government data platform.

·      Smart Freight – Initially supporting Border Readiness for 2021, it will eventually provide real time vehicle and consignment status at any point of the freight journey, to improve flow, enhance border security, provide advance data for analytical purposes and enable communication between HMG and industry

·      Supply Chain Visibility – Securing more timely and enriched commercial supply chain data to enhance analysis and improve flow.

·      BPDG’s Long-term Strategy team and the Future Borders Programme are working closely together to understand interdependences and to ensure that delivery is aligned across the two work strands.

How will the 2025 UK Border Strategy interact with the Freeports consultation?

Freeports will fall within the scope of the 2025 UK Border Strategy. BPDG are working closely with HMT to incorporate the results from the recent consultation on Freeports into the development of this work. Therefore, there is no need to repeat views that formed part of the response to that consultation.

How will the Border 2025 Strategy interact with the new Export Strategy (expected to be published by the Department for International Trade)?

·      The vision of the Border 2025 Strategy has trade at its centre.

·      The Department for International Trade (DIT) will launch a new Export Strategy later this year, which will drive exports in every region of the UK, and bring to bear all of government’s levers across trade policy, trade promotion and trade facilitation to support economic recovery.

·      The Export Strategy will work in tandem with the 2025 Border Strategy, addressing barriers away from the frontier and encouraging more SMEs to export, as well as ensuring we raise the standards of borders worldwide. We will continue to ensure that both strategies (the Border 2025 Strategy and the Export Strategy) are complementary and are mutually reinforcing.

How will the Border 2025 Strategy facilitate trade and encourage investment?

The vision of the Border 2025 Strategy has trade at its centre. A more effective border improves the business environment and will make the UK an even more attractive destination for inward investment.

The future of trade has changed, and the Government has a clear role to promote free and seamless trade and supporting traders where there are market failures.

What is the Department for International Trade interest in/support for the Border 2025 Strategy?

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has an important role to play in internationalising the 2025 UK Border Strategy, leveraging our existing relationships in multilateral fora like the WTO and OECD and with partners worldwide, on top of our domestic work to promote and support trade.

DIT and Border and Protocol Delivery Group (BPDG) officials continuously collaborate to ensure that the Border 2025 Strategy is effective and has trade at its heart.

Are the devolved administrations (DAs) being involved in the development of the 2025 UK Border Strategy?

Yes, we are working closely with the DAs to develop the 2025 UK Border Strategy. Import and export controls are generally reserved, but the areas of food safety, the protection of human, animal and plant health, and the environment are devolved. The Devolved Administrations therefore implement various provisions in these areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will continue to work with the Devolved Administrations to develop a border strategy which delivers benefit for the people and businesses across the UK.

What role will Border Force play in this?

As it does today, Border Force will continue to conduct security and regulatory examinations on people and freight entering the UK at the border using skilled people, technology and intelligence on behalf of a number of government departments.

How many new Border Force officers will you need to operationalise this?

Border Force is committed to ensuring that we have the necessary staff in place to keep our borders safe.

We have already delivered a large scale recruitment and training programme, which has seen an uplift of permanent staff, bringing the number of full-time equivalent Border Force staff to over 8,700 from 7,700 in March 2018, in order to boost wider operational resilience and to address the uplift in work as a result of leaving the EU.

This includes a Readiness Task Force (RTF) of c.300 officers. This multi-disciplinary team is available to deploy across the UK at short notice to deal with emerging issues and peaks in demand.

Resource and staffing requirements are continually reviewed, and Border Force deploys staff and resources flexibly as and when they are required. Border Force will continue to build a pipeline of resource to flexibly respond to future requirements.

Won’t this just cause friction at the border as we trial new methods and technology?

No – all new technology and operational practice is developed in detail, alongside the border industry as appropriate, and would not adversely impact operations at the border.

Will it actually make the UK safer?

From the end of the Transition period we will apply UK Immigration Rules to EU Nationals. This will enhance our ability to refuse entry or remove EU citizens on the basis of their conduct or previous criminality or whom we consider a threat to the UK.

Border Force already conducts 100% checks on people entering the UK on scheduled services, together with risked-based intelligence-led interventions at smaller ports and airfields. This approach will be maintained at the end of transition period.

Leaving the EU also gives us an opportunity to improve the data we acquire on goods coming into the UK from the EU. The temporary streamlined controls from December on goods will in the longer term provide us with pre-arrival data on all goods from the EU, which is not possible at present under EU customs rules. This will improve intelligence led border policing and make it easier, for example, to identify exploitation of EU – UK trade routes by Organised Crime Groups.

But to be clear, we will continue to make decisions on whether to permit EU traffic to enter the UK at the border through a number of checks using skilled people, technology and intelligence.

With more rules and checks isn’t there more room for exploitation and criminal activity?

The UK’s exit from the EU provides a once in a generation opportunity to take back control and strengthen the security of the UK border.

From the end of the transition period we will apply UK immigration rules to EU nationals. This will enhance our ability to refuse entry or remove EU citizens on the basis of their conduct or previous criminality or whom we consider a threat to the UK.

Border Force already conducts 100% checks on people entering the UK on scheduled services, together with risked-based intelligence-led interventions at smaller ports and airfields. This approach will be maintained at the end of transition.

Leaving the EU also gives us an opportunity to improve the data we acquire on goods coming into the UK from the EU. The temporary streamlined controls from December on goods will in the longer term provide us with pre-arrival data on all goods from the EU, which is not possible at present under EU customs rules. This will improve intelligence led border policing and make it easier, for example, to identify exploitation of EU – UK trade routes by Organised Crime Groups.

But to be clear, we will continue to make decisions on whether to permit EU traffic to enter the UK at the border through a number of checks using skilled people, technology and intelligence.

How does this link to the UK’s points-based immigration system?

·      The British people have voted time and again to take back control of our borders and introduce a new points-based immigration system. 

·      This year, we have set out a vision for the biggest shake-up of the UK’s immigration system in a generation that will be fairer and work for the whole UK as well as those who travel here.  

·      The point-based immigration system will provide simple, effective and flexible arrangements for skilled workers from around the world to come to the UK once freedom of movement has ended. It will be introduced from January 2021. 

·      This consultation looks forward to our border strategy in 2025 and will transform the way in which people come to in the UK, making it an even better place to live, work, study and visit.

Further information on PBS and the border?

·      We will implement a suite of changes allowing us to regain full control over, and strengthen the security of, our border

·      Investment in border processes, biometrics and technology will result in a border that operates with a fully digital end-to-end customer journey, improving both security and the passage of legitimate travellers through the border.

·      Within the next few years, we will introduce a universal ‘permission to travel’ requirement which will require everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish nationals) to seek permission in advance of travel

·      An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) similar to the US ESTA will be introduced to close the current gap in advance permissions for those who do not normally need a visa to visit the UK for short stays or who do not already have an immigration status before travelling

·      For those coming for purposes such as to work or study in the UK or as visitors, their permission will be given electronically. For British and Irish citizens, who do not require leave to enter the UK, their permission will be demonstrated by their passport

·      At the border, we will ensure the smooth flow of those legitimately coming to the UK. Individuals with an electronic permission will not need to show this as it can be checked on border systems. 

·      EEA citizens can for now continue to use a national identity card to cross the border, although we intend to phase out the use of insecure identity documents for newly arriving migrants and will set out further details on this shortly.

·      Until at least January 2026, we will continue to recognise national identity cards used for travel by EEA citizens who are resident in the UK before the end of the transition period and their EEA family members and who hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

·      We will also recognise ICAO compliant identity cards from this group beyond 2026.