The emergency power to deal with truck queues bound for France after Brexit is being perpetuated, indicating that the government anticipates further cross-channel disruptions.
Operation Brock, a traffic management system designed to cope with the queues of up to 13,000 trucks bound for the mainland Europe After the Brexit transition period was extended once in December 2020, the entire Kent County was originally scheduled to end in October 2021.
However, according to the Guardian, the ministers plan to make these provisions indefinite by removing the “sunset clause” from the legislation that stipulates the expiration of powers.
This means that emergency agreements can be activated at any time to use the countercurrent system to manage truck traffic around the Port of Dover and Folkestone Channel Tunnel.
This change was quietly announced in the consultation response on the government website during the recess of the parliament. At that time, members of parliament left Westminster and the statutory instrument was to be formulated in September.
The Minister of Transportation Grant Shapps (Grant Shapps) previously admitted that allowing trucks to use only the transportation system on the side of the M20 motorway “frustrated residents and businesses.”
These measures were promulgated in October 2019 after Brexit and the closure of the French border due to coronavirus in December 2020, and were implemented briefly again this summer to cope with the large number of holidays and freight traffic to France.
According to the emergency plan, part of the eastbound M20—the main road to Dover and the Eurotunnel in nearby Folkestone—is closed to normal traffic and only used by trucks. Other vehicles use the London side of the M20 in the reverse flow system.
The government’s consultation response stated that the cancellation of the sunset clause would provide Kent Resilience Forum has “the ability to respond appropriately and quickly to situations and minimize any interference.”
“The Block Operation Response Plan will continue to be used temporarily and will only be implemented when absolutely necessary to minimize traffic congestion in Kent caused by the short strait interruption,” it said.
It emphasizes the possible use in the future as “emergency traffic management measures for interruptions caused by severe weather or industrial actions”.
However, lawmakers said that the root cause of the cross-channel interruption threat was Brexit. Sarah Olney, a transport spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said: “The botched deal between the Conservative Party and the European Union hurt British businesses and consumers the most.
“Through this move, they basically recognize that the destruction that local residents have to endure will be long-lasting and will continue for the foreseeable future. What the Conservative Party ministers did is not address the root cause and listen to the concerns of the Kent people. It’s covering up the cracks. This is not good enough.”
Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for British, an international campaign organization, said: “This is an admission that far from a’teething problem’, the government expects that the supply problems caused by their hasty Brexit agreement will continue indefinitely.
“The shelves are empty, and our supply chain is on the verge of collapse. The government should seek to improve their dealings with Europe, not prepare Kent to become a permanent truck parking lot.”
The government has previously stated that since Brexit, cross-channel freight traffic has been better than expected. Only “2-3%” of trucks have been turned away because they did not have the required paperwork or Covid testing, and did not expect the most Bad situation it simulates the scene 7,000 trucks Queuing in Kent will be realized.
Facts have proved that as a way of managing truck traffic, Operation Block is not popular with residents, but the authorities believe that it reduces interference in general.Department transportation Contacted for comment.
