Issue - meetings

By Councillor Temperton to Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council 

As the deadline for Brexit is fast approaching, will the Leader give an update on the Council’s preparations and especially the effects a ‘no-deal’ Brexit would have on our residents.

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council the following published question:

As the deadline for Brexit is fast approaching, will the Leader give an update on the Council’s preparations and especially the effects a ‘no-deal’ Brexit would have on our residents.

In response Councillor Bettison OBE stated that the position of the UK in relation to leaving the EU on 31 October remained uncertain.  Therefore, the Council was taking proportionate steps to ensure that services and the local community would experience minimal disruptions.

He added that a comprehensive action plan has been developed to prepare services and the community for Brexit. He stated that this built upon what he reported to Council in the Spring.  A dedicated working group had been established to collate information from across the organisation and to complete scenario planning for potential no deal situations and worse case scenarios.  He reported that this provided effective communication channels directly from services to the joint emergency planning team, corporate management team and onwards to national bodies.

He advised that the Council were planning for Brexit scenarios in line with guidance and information provided through the connections with the local resilience forum, regional chief executives’ network and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

He presented a diagram to the meeting showing the structure that had been put in place and how it fitted in the wider national picture.

He reported that the Council had been allocated an additional £105k funding to support preparations for exiting the EU and that this was in addition to the previously allocated £210k. This money would be used to support the Council’s continued and timely planning for Brexit, providing additional staffing resources, expertise and resilience where needed. 

He concluded in relation to the Council’s response that internally, all services had been considering areas of business continuity such as disruption to IT, workforce and supply. Risks specific to Brexit had also been captured in a specific risk register, which was reviewed and updated regularly. Work was ongoing within services to liaise with partners and contractors to ensure that Brexit plans are in place with defined communication channels.

He concluded that any residents who would like further information should visit the Council’s website where a specific page provided information on preparing the UK for leaving the EU. https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/preparing-uk-exit-eu

He would circulate to a copy of report and the chart to every member and endeavour to keep members informed of activity after 31 October.

Councillor Temperton thanked the Leader for his report.