Brexit: Irish Sea border 'may not not be fully operational' by January

There is a very high risk the new Irish Sea border will not be fully operational by 1 January, the UK public spending watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has identified potential shortfalls in software systems and staffing.

On Thursday, Stormont officials said border control posts would not be ready at the end of the Brexit transition and they were working on contingency plans.

The new permanent infrastructure is not to be finished until June.

Northern Ireland will stay in the EU single market for goods while the rest of the UK leaves, and will also continue to apply EU customs rules at its ports.

That will mean a new range of checks, controls and administration on goods entering from other parts of the UK. This is known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The NAO said UK and NI government departments faced "a very significant challenge", due to:

HMRC, which will be responsible for the customs element of the new border, told the NAO it was confident it could deliver two key IT systems in time.

However, it acknowledged that bringing all the elements together was "still very high risk, and there is little time for software providers to make the necessary changes or to resolve any issues which may emerge during testing".

Stormont's Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has told the NAO it will not be able to fully operate an IT system relating to the importation system of food and animals.

Instead it is undertaking contingency planning to seek to develop systems that will allow the inspection, the document check and the vehicle journey services to be in place for the 1 January.

"Several elements of the overall programme of work required to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol are at very high risk of not being able to operate as planned by 1 January 2021," concludes the NAO.

The UK government was "working hard to implement the withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol, and... taking practical steps to do so," said a spokesperson.

"The UK government is working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to progress the actions required," they added.

"We have launched a new and unprecedented £200 million Trader Support Service which will provide guidance, training and support for businesses in Northern Ireland to ensure that we will be ready at the end of the transition period."

Meanwhile, BBC News NI has seen plans for the new border control post at Belfast Harbour.

It will be on a site at Dargan Drive, which is currently used to store shipping containers.

It includes an warehouse for inspecting food and separate facilities for examining pets and horses.