Recommendation 22

Despite the new campaign having been underway for some time, there remains a significant risk that businesses and individuals will not be ready for the end of the transition period. Government survey data suggests that 36% of SMEs still believe the transition period will be extended.58 The picture is changing rapidly, and the percentage had come down from 43% to 36% in the last month.59 However, the Cabinet Office does not know whether the remaining 64% have taken action to be ready.60 The Cabinet Office reports that it has seen progress on other actions taken by individuals and businesses to be ready. For example, the Cabinet Office says 3.91 million EU nationals in the UK have registered for the EU settlement scheme, meeting its expected target. The Cabinet Office also informed us that more than 90% of businesses have completed the necessary registrations for getting an economic operator registration and identification (EORI) number, which will be required for moving goods between the UK and the EU.61 The Cabinet Office plans to intensify communications as the deadline approaches, and work with third parties such as business representative organisations or intermediaries to reach small businesses in particular. We are not convinced that the Cabinet Office has the necessary information on levels of readiness among businesses and individuals to successfully target this campaign.62