Cardiff council warning of no-deal Brexit chaos
POTENTIAL food, medicine and fuel shortages, disruption at ports, and civil unrest as a result of a “no-deal” Brexit could result in severe disruptions to Cardiff and its ability to provide services, a Cardiff council report has warned.
The council has published an impact assessment on the event of the UK leaving the EU without a trade deal.
The report says it is difficult for the council to assess the likelihood of any of these risks – but says the authority should be aware of the possible consequences of a “no-deal” Brexit.
Warnings of food, medicine and fuel shortages, disruption at ports and civil unrest were made by the UK Government in a series of technical notices released in August and have been considered as part of the impact assessment.
“It is difficult for the council to make any determination on the likelihood of these scenarios occurring in the absence of any published national risk assessment work,” the report says. “It is prudent, however, for the council to be aware of all the possible consequences”.
The study found 6,676 EU nationals are working in Cardiff – making up 15.2% of the city’s wholesale and retail trade, 13.1% of the health and social care sector and 11.1% of the education sector, and accounting for 3.3% of the city’s overall workforce.
The assessment says although there is no immediate data on the number of non-UK EU workers employed by Cardiff council, “it is not anticipated that Brexit will have a major impact on staff directly employed by the council”.
Health and social care and construction are the two sectors in Cardiff where recruitment issues could be made worse with any potential restrictions on free labour, the study found.
The report says: “The council can assume, based on the extrapolation of city-wide figures, that around 13% of the adult social care workforce’s participation in the labour market may be influenced by Brexit.”
If a no-deal Brexit still looks likely by November, the UK Government will release 12 detailed risk assessments to all public bodies so they can plan for the consequences, the council understands.