The UK border: preparedness for the end of the transition period - UK National Audit Office (NAO) Report

This report describes the UK government's progress in implementing changes required to manage the GB-EU border after the end of the Brexit transition period. As a result of the ongoing negotiations and wider political context there have been many political developments relating to EU Exit (Brexit) and the management of the GB-EU border to which UK departments have had to respond since we last reported. The purpose of this report is to: set out how the government and departments have been preparing to manage the border after the end of the transition period; to set out their degree of preparedness to implement their plans; and to highlight the significant risks to the effective functioning of the border from 1 January 2021. It is based on information available up to 30 October 2020. In Part One we set out the background to preparations for the end of the transition period and government’s planning assumptions. In Part Two we report on progress with implementing the arrangements required to manage Great Britain’s (GB’s) border from 1 January 2021. In Part Three we report on progress with implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol for 1 January 2021. In Part Four we report on progress with implementing the arrangements required to manage the GB border from 1 July 2021. In this part we also consider some longer-term issues relevant to the management of the border.