Troops on standby as Brexit ‘no-deal’ risk rises
Impact on supplies and staff levels raised by MPs
THE GOVERNMENT is to have thousands of troops on standby to help with a no-deal Brexit after Ministers agreed to ramp up preparations for leaving the European Union without a deal next year.
Speaking yesterday as the UK approached the 100-day countdown to its departure on March 29, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told the Commons that some 3,500 troops will be “held at readiness” to help with a no-deal Brexit.
The Scarborough-born Minister said regulars and reservists will be available to support any Government department with contingency plans, prompting claims of scaremongering tactics to persuade MPs to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
The revelation came as Mrs May’s Cabinet agreed to activate all of the Government’s no-deal plans in the hope of preparing the country for the possibility that the UK will crash out without agreement on March 29.
HM Revenue and Customs will provide an updated 100-plus page online advice pack for businesses on possible changes at borders, with emails due to go out later this week to 80,000 of those most likely to be affected.
Advice is to be issued to private individuals through online websites, adverts and direct communications over the coming weeks on actions which they should take. Areas covered are expected to include bank card payments in the EU and travelling to the continent with pets.
Downing Street stressed that it remains the Government’s “top priority” to deliver Brexit under the terms of the deal struck by Mrs May with Brussels, and the Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted that this remains “the most likely scenario”.
But Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay warned that unless MPs back Mrs May’s deal when it returns to the Commons in January the default option is for the UK to leave without any exit arrangement
in place. “Parliament needs to back the deal because the consequence of not doing so is we risk the default of no-deal, and a responsible Government must prepare for that eventuality,” said Mr Barclay.
“That is what we agreed at Cabinet. That is what we are going to do.”
He dismissed alternative plans being pushed by Ministers – including a second referendum or a “managed” no-deal under which arrangements are made with Brussels to limit any negative impacts of severing ties with the EU.
Labour MP Ian Murray, a supporter of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign, said in a statement outside the Commons: “This is the reality of a no-deal Brexit: soldiers on the streets, medicines being stockpiled in the NHS, and airports and ferry terminals grinding to a halt. This is scare tactics, pure and simple.”
Meanwhile, MPs warned today that Government health bosses have failed to properly plan for the impact of Brexit, leaving patients at risk from staffing shortages and a lack of equipment.
Preparations ramped up with 100 days remaining
GOVERNMENT HEALTH bosses have failed to properly plan for the impact of Brexit, leaving patients at risk from staffing shortages and a lack of medical equipment, MPs have warned.
The Public Accounts Committee has called for urgent action from the Department of Health and Social Care, led by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, to make sure the NHS is prepared for Britain leaving the EU.
A report by the committee warns of “serious consequences” for patients because a lack of Brexit planning threatens to hit recruitment and equipment supplies.
It also warns of funding shortages for hospitals after NHS trusts ended the last financial year millions of pounds in deficit.
PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier said: “The Department of Health and Social Care must show far more urgency in getting to grips with regional funding imbalances and demonstrate it understands the effects these have at the front line.
“But there are other indicators of an under-pressure Department at risk of losing its way. The Department’s lack of clear Brexit planning could threaten the supply of medical equipment. Staff shortages could deepen. The potential consequences for patients are serious.
“These and other uncertainties are amplified by the continued absence of the Government’s promised 10-year plan for the NHS, its promised plans for social care, and its promised plans for immigration.”
The PAC said it had not been reassured by a Department “assertion” that there had not been a large exodus of staff since the 2016 referendum.
It said the UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy, due to be revealed soon in a white paper, could make things worse, depending on what is in it.
There are currently more than 155,000 staff from EU27 countries making “an important and valued contribution to the health and care system”, it noted.
There were 108,000 vacant posts in the NHS in June but that officials and politicians’ focus on a national picture “hides underlying disparities in specific specialisms and local areas and does not allow them to fully understand the impact of staff shortages”.
The report said the DHSC had “asserted that the risk to the NHS in relation to staff from overseas going forward is more about the future immigration policy than about Brexit specifically, as it expects to continue to have more staff from non-EU countries than from EU-countries”. It added: “It told us that it was in close discussions with the Home Office about its forthcoming immigration White Paper and the impact this may have on various medical workforces.”
The report also warned that while plans were afoot to stockpile six weeks’ worth of medicines and smaller materiel like gloves, dressings and syringes which are imported from the EU, officials had told it that “potential disruption” to supplies of larger equipment such as X-ray machines was “not on its radar”.
The authors added: “The Department similarly told us that it had not communicated with NHS Providers to establish the impact this potential disruption could have on patient care.
“The Department informed us that it had, however, at the start of October, issued advice to NHS Trusts to perform a review of contracts held with the aim of identifying the potential consequences of Brexit.
“The Department was unable to tell us what level of risk this poses to NHS Providers, services or patient care.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We are investing an extra £20.5bn a year to guarantee the future of our health service through the NHS Long Term Plan.
“We will consider the recommendations in today’s Public Accounts Committee report carefully and will publish a response in due course.”
There are indicators of a Department at risk of losing its way.
Meg Hillier, Public Accounts Committee chairwoman.