Cornwall Council leader says it is 'difficult' to prepare for a no deal Brexit

The leader of Cornwall Council says that it is “difficult” to prepare for a no deal Brexit due to lack of information about what might happen.

Julian German gave an update on the council’s preparations for Brexit after being asked by councillor Leigh Frost.

The Bodmin councillor asked the question after Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated last week that it was likely that there would be no trade deal with the EU after January 1.

Cllr German said that the council’s priority was currently the coronavirus crisis and said that it was “a very challenging time for a no deal Brexit”.

The independent councillor said that work needed to be done around the council’s involvement in areas such as fish exports and licensing.

He said that for hauliers it was likely that a no deal Brexit would be “extremely challenging” with additional timescales and and licensing required.

But he admitted: “We don’t know what that looks like really. We have estimated that we will need another eight officers for animal licensing checks.”

However Cllr German said that the council was not in a position to employ extra staff at a time of financial challenge and with no certainty about whether there would be a no deal Brexit or not.

The council leader said that there was also continued uncertainty about funding that Cornwall will get to replace money which would have come from the EU.

A Shared Prosperity Fund is set to be created to provide money but no details have yet been released and decisions about the fund have been delayed repeatedly.

Cllr German said: “We were told two years ago there would a shared prosperity fund to replace the European funding. We still have no idea what a share prosperity fund may look like.

“We are on the cliff edge of the end of European funding and the really big gap between that and regional funding.”

He added: “There is only so much that Cornwall Council can do to prepare for this when we don’t know what we are preparing for.

“These are really challenging times.”

Conservative councillor John Keeling said that while he shared concerns about the shared prosperity fund he said that the Prime Minister had “promised £700million for Cornwall”.

He added: “I don’t see why that shouldn’t come forward.”

Cllr German replied: “I have heard that the Prime Minister made those statements and that is fantastic and we have written to the Prime Minister thanking him and we look forward to the details.

“While words have been said the shared prosperity fund doesn’t exist yet, we don’t know when we will receive that money, what mechanism will receive it, does it come to the council or to the Local Enterprise Partnership, and what conditions will be on it.

“As we said four years ago, we still have no understanding of what the timescales are. We have been told on a number of occasions that this would be happening.

“While the Prime Minister has said we will receive the money we still have no idea when and that is our concern.

“And, with all due respect, a number of things have been said by politicians in recent years that haven’t been followed through.”