The Minister for Health, Care and Business has confirmed that the causes of the delays affecting deliveries of medicines into Gibraltar have now been identified, and that the Spanish authorities have given assurances that the necessary corrections are being applied.

The delays arose on the Spanish side of the frontier and affected the clearance of trucks carrying medication bound for Gibraltar.

Following sustained engagement by the Government and HM Customs Gibraltar with the Spanish authorities, two technical causes have been identified. Both relate to the way consignments were being processed on entry, rather than to the arrangements themselves or to any action by HM Customs Gibraltar.

The Spanish authorities have confirmed that both matters are being corrected and that they are liaising with customs agents in Spain.

The consignment of chemotherapy medication for the Gibraltar Health Authority cleared and arrived in Gibraltar yesterday. There is no concern over stock levels at the GHA. The issue was raised at an early stage as a precaution and normal supply has continued throughout.

The Minister attended on site on Tuesday evening together with the Chief Secretary, Glendon Martinez, and the Collector of Customs, John Payas. Minister Arias-Vasquez returned to the HM Customs Entry Processing Unit (EPU) yesterday afternoon with the Director of Gibraltar House Brussels, Daniel D'Amato, the Collector of Customs and senior Customs officials, where they remained throughout the afternoon.

As a preventative measure, HM Customs officers have been visiting the largest importers to guide them through the process and will continue those visits over the coming days. This is in addition to the training offered by HM Customs ahead of the provisional application of the Treaty last week.

As at 19:00hrs yesterday, 184 trucks had entered Gibraltar on that day alone under the new arrangements. This is in addition to the 170 trucks that entered Gibraltar on Tuesday. Trucks carrying food consignments of non-EU origin have also entered Gibraltar this morning. The system is therefore working, and some teething issues are to be expected while it beds in.

The Government notes the statement issued by the Opposition yesterday. The GSD had every opportunity to ask the Government directly what the position was and what was being done about it. It chose instead to issue a statement accompanied by glossy images stating “BLOCKED DELIVERY OF MEDICATIONS” which served only to cause unnecessary alarm and scaremonger the community. That is not scrutiny, and it does nothing to help the patients or the businesses concerned. If Mr Sacarello and Ms Ladislaus were genuinely interested in what was going on they should have picked up the phone and asked the Government directly, away from the public limelight, before issuing a public statement.

The Minister for Health, Care and Business, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP, said:

"I want to reassure the public that the causes of these delays have now been identified and that the Spanish authorities have confirmed they are being corrected. The chemotherapy medication for the Gibraltar Health Authority has arrived, no patient treatment has been affected, and there has been no concern over stock levels in our pharmacies at any point.

"I was on site on Tuesday evening with the Chief Secretary, Collector of Customs and Senior Customs Officers, and again yesterday afternoon with the Director of Gibraltar House Brussels, the Collector of Customs and senior Customs officials. I want to thank all HM Customs officers for their persistence and professionalism in pursuing this to the point where the causes have been pinned down, and for visiting importers to guide them through the new process. My thanks go equally to everyone across the Public Service, of all grades, who have worked flat out throughout this period, in many cases well beyond their normal working hours, to keep medicines and goods moving into Gibraltar. These are new arrangements for both sides, and it is realistic to expect some teething issues as everyone adjusts to them. What is important is that we identify them, resolve them, and put steps in place so they do not happen again.

"On the comments made by the Opposition, I would remind them that these arrangements are new for Gibraltar, for Spain and for the European Union. No amount of preparation removes the need to resolve practical matters as they arise, and the test of a Government is how quickly it deals with them.

"I do not accept that my attending the Entry Processing Unit in person is “drama”, as the GSD has suggested. It is the job I have been elected to do. I have been there on two consecutive days, alongside the relevant officials, because that is how these matters get resolved. When a delivery of medicines to Gibraltar is held up on the other side of the frontier, I will always be there in person, and I make no apology for that. I even made sure there were no photos taken so as to not be accused of photo opportunities, and yet, here we are.

"On the wider movement of goods, HM Customs is working directly with importers and with the business community to make this process as straightforward as possible. We are consistently engaging with counterparts in Spain to make sure that any issues are dealt with swiftly. Public confidence in these arrangements will be built by identifying problems, fixing them and being open about it, and that is what this Government will continue to do."