“There is a lot of work still to be done for the U.K. Border to be ready by the end of the year – but political certainty will help” said Tony Smith, Managing Director of Fortinus Global and chairman of IBMATA, this week.

Smith – a former head of the U.K. Border Force and now an international border management consultant – was speaking to an audience of experts at the Institute for Government on Monday. As a member of the expert panel to the Parliamentary Commission on Alternative Arrangements for the Irish Border last year, Smith pointed to a number of Customs facilitations that could significantly enhance the pace of negotiations with the EU. At the same time, a lack of clear governance in Whitehall over Border Management and the lack of political certainty over the past 3 years had left the U.K. Border some way behind the EU in developing a new operating model for Customs.

You can see the entire panel discussion here:

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/events/getting-brexit-done