Off the record

There may be a new Prime Minister and a new government in place, but it doesn’t appear to have given Kent County Council (KCC) confidence that everything is in place to mitigate against the worst effects of a no-deal Brexit. Its corporate risk register has been updated and the impact of Brexit has been elevated to its highest possible level - effectively meaning that the risks identified are “very likely” to happen. A report says the risk factor has gone up “due to the continuing uncertainty at national level and the fact that a deal between the UK and EU has not been reached.” Given KCC has previously predicted six months of disruption in the face of a departure from the EU without any agreed terms, this may not be much of a surprise. Let’s hope the council can open channels of communication to Michael Gove who has been appointed to the cabinet as

Brexit trouble shooter. He has been charged with making sure everything is done to ensure any disruption caused by Brexit is kept to a minimum.

Good luck with that, as they say.

The new transport Secretary of State looks like being as busy as his predecessor was. Let’s hope Grant Shapps proves to be less gaffe-prone than the ousted Chris Grayling, whose spell in the role was chequered to say the least. Mr Shapps is already coming under pressure from Kent MPs to do something about the M20 contra-flow which has restricted traffic to two lanes London-bound - even though Operation Brock is not in place.

They have been pressing for the scheme to be lifted but to no avail. In one of his last actions as Roads Minister, Michael Ellis - who has been shuffled out - wrote a letter on the subject to Ashford MP Damian Green, saying it would stay in place for safety reasons.