35 Accepted

Publish compensation position for unused border infrastructure and prevent future stranded investments.

Recommendation
The Government should set out how it will learn lessons from the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), including the handling of costs for unused or under used border infrastructure. It should publish its position on compensation for local authorities and businesses and state how it will ensure future border policy changes avoid generating unnecessary or stranded investments. (Recommendation, Paragraph 88)
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and is engaging with port health authorities and port operators regarding impacts of SPS agreement implementation. They will use this engagement to inform an approach, abide by any obligations arising from the New Burdens doctrine, and have commissioned an evaluation of the BTOM.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
The government accepts this recommendation. We are already engaging with both port health authorities and port operators regarding impacts of SPS agreement implementation. Whilst we cannot provide a specific position on compensation at this point, we will use this engagement to inform an approach which will be publicly communicated. As confirmed in response to the Committee’s previous report, we will abide by any obligations arising from the New Burdens doctrine. We have commissioned a proportionate, mixed methods evaluation of the BTOM, including interviews with traders, to examine resilience at the border and understand how implementation worked in practice. This includes exploring what supported or hindered effective delivery, how changes introduced through BTOM have been embedded, how the system has performed in relation to enhanced monitoring and response capabilities and analysing data to look retrospectively at trading behaviour.
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.3 yrs
Report published 05 Feb 2026