Issue - meetings

By Councillor Mrs Temperton to Councillor Bettison, Executive Member for Council Strategy and Community Cohesion:

What has the Council done to prepare for Brexit?

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Bettison, Executive Member for Council Strategy and Community Cohesion the following published question:

What has the Council done to prepare for Brexit?

Councillor Bettison responded by expressing that he would have hoped for some certainty with regards to the Brexit agreement, however this was regrettably not the case.

The Government had allocated £210k to Bracknell Forest Council to cover a ‘no deal’ Brexit. However, the Council had taken specific actions to prepare itself for all eventualities, and Councillor Bettison outlined the following.

The Chief Executive was feeding back to the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a weekly basis through regional networks. The Chief Executive was also liaising with his counterpart at West Berkshire Council, who represented the two Councils on the Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum.

Workforce issues were being addressed in collaboration with key service providers including social care providers, however it was not anticipated that Brexit would cause significant implications beyond the existing pressures.

A number of the Council’s IT applications were hosted within the European Union, however it was understood that due to data protection alignment between the UK and European Union this was unlikely to have immediate impact.

Skills loss across the Borough could not be influenced by the Council. Councillor Bettison explained that EU, European Economic Area, European Free Trade Area and Swiss qualified teachers would not be recognised as fully qualified teachers in the UK. It was noted that this does not apply to European Union teachers who were already recognised as qualified teachers in the UK.

The Council was not currently involved in any funding bids which would be affected by Brexit.

Additional costs or tariffs on specialist items such as health and social care equipment could not be fully known until the date of formal Brexit had been agreed.

Supplies such as food, fuel and medical supplies were being addressed through the Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum. Bracknell Forest had made arrangements with ISS, who were the main provider of school meals, to source meals which used ingredients which were readily available locally.

Councillor Bettison explained that it was likely that the Government would extend the term of existing Members of European Parliament if Brexit had not been delivered by European Union elections. If this was not the case, an election may need to be arranged.

In summary, Councillor Bettison explained that the Council had done much to prepare for Brexit, and the Corporate Management Team and Senior Leadership Group were undertaking work to look at the implications of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.