Brexit Border IT outage sparks fresh food delays

Retailers rejected deliveries as shelf life dwindled

The UK's post-Brexit border regime has come under fresh fire after IT outages crippled the crucial Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS) over the weekend.

The glitch resulted in perishable goods, including meat, cheese and flowers, being held up for 20 hours at the government control post serving Dover and the Channel Tunnel.

Businesses have called the situation a "disaster" as the delays reduce the shelf life of their products.

The outage, which struck at the weekend, knocked offline the ALVS, a crucial component for processing imports after Brexit.

ALVS links the customs declaration system with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs' (Defra) import checks, enabling vital communication between port authorities and health agencies.

The impact was immediate, with Dover, the UK's busiest port, feeling the brunt.

Lorries carrying meat, cheese, and other time-sensitive goods were held up for upwards of 20 hours.

The Guardian reported that some retailers began rejecting deliveries as the shelf life of the products dwindled.

At the beginning of this month, the government implemented physical checks for animal and plant products from the EU as part of its post-Brexit import protocol.

Yet, since their inception, issues with the government's ALVS have resulted in a growing number of lorries being held at border posts for prolonged periods, while manual document verification is carried out by the officials.

One Italian importer said that 18 out of 23 lorries arriving at Dover were diverted to the Sevington holding facility near Ashford, Kent, with some waiting between 9 and 20 hours before being released.

In one case, a lorry carrying perishables arrived at the Defra facility on Sunday morning and wasn't released until 2am the following day.

Customs agents and importers also highlighted the difficulties in reaching Defra officials by phone on Sunday.

The government confirmed a technical issue affecting Defra's digital services on Saturday.

"A power outage over the weekend affected one of the systems required to process imports," a Defra spokesperson said.

"For the majority of vehicles at the border there were no significant delays, but we immediately activated contingency arrangements for affected vehicles, working alongside HMRC and Border Force.

"We are working at pace to resolve the issue and expect that systems will be returning to normal functioning soon. Since the introduction of checks, our teams have been working closely with traders to ensure checks are completed efficiently and swiftly."

The issues highlight the ongoing challenges the UK faces in adapting to its new trading relationship with the EU. While the government introduced new border controls in April, it appears the supporting IT infrastructure remains vulnerable.

The immediate concern is the potential spoilage of perishable goods, leading to financial losses for businesses and potentially impacting consumer availability of certain items.

However, the broader issue is the reliability and efficiency of the UK's border system, which plays a critical role in maintaining smooth trade flows.

This is not the first time post-Brexit border controls have caused headaches.

In April 2022, HMRC's goods vehicle movement service (GVMS), designed to facilitate customs tariffs following the UK's departure from the EU, experienced a significant outage.

The failure prevented transport managers from using GVMS to get the necessary "single movement" reference number for leaving the UK.

The disruption led to the closure of a 37 km section of the M20 highway to accommodate backed-up freight traffic.