Professional Recovery 333

RECOVERYINSIDER
but surely becoming a thing of the past, forced by coronavirus
or through the tighter economics of the recovery industry? I
think a combination of both, but what this does mean is that
the distance recoveries are becoming a thing of the past and
recoveries to the South of England and in particular those to
Kent, will be vastly reduced.
Driver EU permit system
Why do I highlight Kent? I guess this is more of a local issue,
certainly operators working in the South East, including London
operators that borders Kent plus operators in Surrey, Sussex and
Essex, I’m talking about Government plans to introduce a truck
and driver EU permit system ‘Kent Access Permit’ (KAP). This
follows a government consultation carried out back in August
of this year. The consultation covered a series of operational
questions, questions that directly affect Kent and operation
Brock to reduce the massive congestion issues on the M20 with
Operation Stack and now Operation Brock and the additional
congestion expected at the Eurotunnel border control this
January. Not a subject that affects all operators but something
that will affect all port authorities and borders, because a similar
boarder control permit could be introduced elsewhere.
Those South East operators will be especially affected as the
‘Kent Access Permit’ is another piece of legislation imposed on
hauliers. When I say hauliers, I also include recovery operators.
Because KAP will be required when using designated roads in
Kent leading to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, if you are
intending to travel into Europe, then and only then you must be
in possession of a ‘Kent access permit’ (KAP).
Border control issues
Not all operators work in mainland Europe so a lot of the
border control issues the general haulage and European logistics
firms find themselves having to tackle, will not affect your
business, however there are a few who do European repatriation
work, so they will be in the thick of the changes.
If you are intending to travel to or from Europe in your LGV
over 7.5 tonnes then you will first have to access the Smart
Freight Service, referred to as SF, this is an online service for
the ‘Ro-Ro’ freight industry, a website being developed by the
government. The service is intended to simplify and automate
the process of establishing the border-readiness of an LGV to
help mitigate the risk of delays.
The online system will ask questions relating to the expected
EU import controls at the border to ensure all drivers have the
necessary documents before they travel. The service will include
an online portal for registration of goods movements and an
operator application to check compliance with the service.
The operator would use the SF portal to make a series of selfdeclarations
in advance of any travel plans. The SF portal would
then indicate, based on the self-declared information, if your
driver was/is border-ready or not. The SF portal would give
advice to the driver on a ‘traffic light system’:
Failure to follow an instruction from
a traffic or enforcement officer could
mean driver penalties. Fines for not
having a valid KAP would be levied
using fixed penalty notices for UK LGV
drivers, and financial penalty deposit
notices for foreign drivers. Fines would
normally be on the spot, though UK
drivers would have up to 28 days to pay.
If a driver refused to pay, their vehicle
and goods could be impounded.
Green: all relevant documentation has been declared present,
and goods may be taken to the port.
Amber: documentation has been declared present, but goods
can only be taken to the port after your driver has gone to the
HMRC Departure Office, or a Third-Party Authorised Consignor
to complete customs processes and obtain a Master Reference
Number (MRN) barcode.
Red: some or all documentation is missing, and goods should
not be taken to port.
Red result
A driver who gets a ‘red’ result would be advised not to take
goods to the port as they may not be able to complete their
journey and could cause a delay to other traffic, the SF portal
should indicate to the LGV driver why they got a ‘red’ result.
While the SF portal’s traffic light system would be in operation
across the country, including all port crossings, it is proposed to
make it fully enforceable in Kent. This is because of the particular
disruption to the surrounding road network and the risks at the
Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.
Meaning this legislation would require any haulier using
designated roads in Kent leading to the Port of Dover and
Eurotunnel to be in possession of a ‘Kent access permit’ (KAP),
this permit will be digitally issued to those drivers receiving a
‘green’ or ‘amber’ result from the SF service, all valid KAP’s would
only be valid for 24 hours to cover a single trip.
Inevitably this brings into play that unwelcomed phrase
‘enforcement’ with the responsibility lying with the driver,
meaning any enforcement action would also be against the
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