Post by northwestman on Mar 24, 2023 11:09:33 GMT 1
inews.co.uk/news/brexit-food-inspection-sites-uk-taxpayers-cash-never-used-2223985
Almost half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ cash was spent on sites for Brexit import checks that were never introduced after a government U-turn, i can reveal.
The seven Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) were built to inspect plant and animal goods from the EU, before ministers shelved the policy over a feared £1bn hit to trade that would trigger food shortages.
The facilities were announced in October 2020, when fears were running high that the end of the Brexit transition period would bring congestion and chaos at overloaded ports.
But the planned sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on food and plant imports were repeatedly shelved, and then effectively abandoned, as the huge cost for businesses become apparent – meaning the sites were no longer needed.
Now i has obtained official figures revealing at least £466m was spent on constructing and running the unwanted sites across England and Wales – as well as on closing four of the seven.
Almost half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ cash was spent on sites for Brexit import checks that were never introduced after a government U-turn, i can reveal.
The seven Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) were built to inspect plant and animal goods from the EU, before ministers shelved the policy over a feared £1bn hit to trade that would trigger food shortages.
The facilities were announced in October 2020, when fears were running high that the end of the Brexit transition period would bring congestion and chaos at overloaded ports.
But the planned sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on food and plant imports were repeatedly shelved, and then effectively abandoned, as the huge cost for businesses become apparent – meaning the sites were no longer needed.
Now i has obtained official figures revealing at least £466m was spent on constructing and running the unwanted sites across England and Wales – as well as on closing four of the seven.
