COUNCILS will ‘feel the brunt’ of the implications brought on by a no-deal Brexit, councillors in Caerphilly have heard.
Tim Peppin, director of regeneration and sustainable development at the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), said local authorities had to ‘hope for the best, plan for the worst’ amid uncertainty.
Councillors were told that certain supplies from continental Europe could be disrupted which could impact on school and social care meals provisions.
It was also suggested the council may have to rent extra warehousing space to stockpile goods received from Europe to avoid shortages.
“If we haven’t got a deal then there could be lots of implications, and local authorities will feel the brunt of that,” said Mr Peppin on Tuesday.
“We’re not likely to face an overall shortage but there could see shortages of some key products.”
The council, which has been provided a Brexit preparedness ‘toolkit’ by the WLGA, was also warned that Caerphilly’s economy and business community would be hit hardest by no-deal.
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Mr Peppin added that there was ‘very little detail’ on the Shared Prosperity Fund, which would make up for the loss of £2.4 billion in EU funding available to organisations and projects after Brexit.
A £1 million ‘emergency’ Brexit fund, aimed at providing immediate support for those affected by Brexit in the borough, was also approved at the meeting.
This means that council leader Dave Poole, and interim chief executive Christina Harrhy, have delegated powers to withdraw from the fund, with their decisions reported retrospectively for scrutiny.
Cllr Poole, who previously said he hoped the fund would never be used, told councillors: “This fund ensures we can act quickly to make sure residents of this county are not affected, or minimise the effects of whatever is agreed in Parliament.
“There is nothing sinister. Once we use [the fund] we will report it [to councillors] as quickly as possible.
“What I don’t want is other councils beating us to whatever stock is out there.”
Plaid Cymru group leader Colin Mann said there was widespread public frustration with the ‘messy’ Brexit process, regardless of how people voted in 2016’s referendum.
He added that jobs, together with ‘actual and potential’ investment, would be lost regardless of how the UK leaves the EU.
But Independents group leader Kevin Etheridge criticised the size of the fund along with the retrospective reporting of Cllr Poole and Ms Harrhy’s decision-making.
Both opposition leaders will be on the council’s Brexit working group, but Cllr Etheridge opted not to support the creation of the contingency fund.
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