A COMPREHENSIVE action plan to prepare for Brexit is being developed by the council.
The UK is due to leave the European Union on October 31 and with less than two months to go, council leader Paul Bettison was quizzed about Bracknell Forest Council’s (BFC) Brexit plans.
He told councillors: “Despite the apparent certainty emanating from the Prime Minister, the position of the UK in relation to leaving the EU on the 31st of October is uncertain.
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“Therefore this council is taking proportionate steps to ensure that services and the local community will experience minimal disruption whatever happens or doesn’t.”
Cllr Bettison also told BFC members the authority’s Brexit “comprehensive action plan” had been developed since the leader gave an initial presentation on the measures put in place for Brexit in February.
Those measures included developing emergency school menus, stockpiling fuel, monitoring social care workforces and more.
A “dedicated working group” has also been created to work out the worst-case scenarios for a no-deal Brexit, which has enabled the council to set up communications with national bodies, the local resilience forum and the ministry for housing, communities and local government.
The authority has received a further £105,000 for its Brexit preparations, having already secured £210,000 from the government.
Cllr Bettison claimed this money would be used to provide additional expertise on the issue.
He added: “You will be able to reassure residents that local government is pretty well prepared.”
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The latest update was given to councillors on Wednesday, September 11.
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