§ Mr. Wallerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cause of the delays to goods traffic at Dover in connection with the introduction by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise of the direct trader input system; what action has been taken to minimise such delays; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Brooke[pursuant to his reply, 18 November 1986]: Some problems have arisen at Dover as a result of the introduction of a new computer system connecting the port trading community with the Customs and Excise freight processing computer. The new computer system has been developed by the Dover harbour board to provide port users at Dover and Folkestone with a comprehensive port information and clearance system. 231W Customs and Excise has introduced special measures to reduce the delays to freight traffic and is co-operating fully with the Dover harbour board to ensure that the computer problems are resolved as quickly as possible.