May I thank Joyce Watson for her contribution? I agree entirely with everything that she said. If I could just add to some of the points that she raised. In terms of rail transport, of course, there will be timetabling challenges if there are significant delays at ports and disruption to the movement of goods. We saw only last year what happens when timetabling changes go horribly wrong. So, this is a key consideration as well that needs to be taken forward by DfT. We are liaising very closely with the Department for Transport and, of course, with Transport for Wales. 

I think it’s also important to recognise that, whilst the ports of Fishguard and Pembroke are not considered at this point high risk, due to their relatively low level of throughput compared to Holyhead, we have to liaise very closely with Pembrokeshire local authority and other partners to constantly review the need for precautionary measures, because if there are very significant delays at a later date, then, of course, we will have to initiate mitigating solutions.

Now, Pembroke Dock has spare holding space at the moment within its existing footprint to cater for waiting outbound vehicles, but, of course, that spare capacity may well be swallowed up if the wrong deal is negotiated or if we fail to get a deal at all and crash out of Europe. So, again, I’d like to assure the Member that I’ll be liaising very closely with the ports and with the local authority to ensure that disruption is minimised.

But I think there’s also an important point to be made about haulage firms themselves. We know that permits will be limited in number, and we fear that it will be the larger haulage firms that will most likely benefit from the permitting regime. Unfortunately, that means that many smaller haulage firms in Wales may well find themselves unable to get the permits that are required to operate in the EU. This is not a concern that is isolated to Wales, either. I was reading recently that the Northern Ireland freight transport association has raised very similar concerns and has pointed out that only 1,200 annual permits were offered across the UK last year but that 40,000 are needed. And, in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, of course, haulage firms have already seen the deadline pass for lorry drivers to apply for licences to drive in Europe. This is a major consideration for haulage firms across the length and breadth of the UK, but particularly important for small operators in Wales, who could be disadvantaged under the permitting regime and who may not, I’m afraid, have been so alert to the consequences of a ‘no deal’ Brexit as some of the larger firms across the UK.