Agenda item

7.1  The Panel intended to question the Chief Executive on two main areas: the Councils corporate strategy in relation to bullying and harassment and the Council’s preparations and contingency planning for Brexit.  Given that the Chief Executive was unwell and unable to attend, the Group Director for Finance and Resources provided an update on contingency planning for Brexit whilst the remaining item was deferred to the next meeting.

  Contingency Planning for Brexit

7.2  It was noted that contingency planning for Brexit was difficult given the absence of a clear decision making process in Parliament.  However, the Council was working with a number of stakeholders (residents of European origin, local businesses, council staff and the local community more generally) to raise awareness of the potential implications of Brexit and to mitigate any adverse impacts that could be anticipated.

7.3  Brexit had been discussed at Senior Management Team and with the Mayor and an extensive paper was prepared in December 2018 to outline some of anticipated outcomes and contingency planning in Hackney.  A task and finish group (made up of a number of key officers and chaired by the Director for Finance and Resources) had been established to oversee this process.  Some examples of the preparations included:

·  Ensuring that contractors who provide key building services for the Council had access to adequate resources and finance to complete contracted works;

·  Working with local NHS partners to ensure that there was a collaborative response to any adverse conditions that may result from Brexit;

·  Making sure residents were aware of the potential impact of Brexit, particularly the 41,500 local residents who are European nationals;

·  Ensuring that local job seekers were adequately supported to respond to any opportunities that may result because of Brexit.

7.4  The Council was also keen to support the welfare of staff who may be affected by Brexit.  The Council had made it clear that it will pay for the registration fee (£65) for staff who, as European citizens, must register to continue to work and live here.  It was noted that this would be a key element for business continuity in key health and social care services.

7.5  The Council had developed and published a web page to support local residents and businesses.  The page provided information to local residents from the EU on how to achieve settled status.  The page also provided a range of links to government websites so that local businesses were aware of the support available to them to help them prepare for Brexit.  A partnership event was also held with the European Commission and the Hackney Business Network in Hackney House in October 2018.

  Questions from the Panel

7.6  Given that the prospect of a no-deal Brexit remained, the panel sought to ascertain if any government departments had been in contact with the Council for any specific plans should such an eventuality occur?  The Panel noted that the Council was preparing for a range of possible outcomes, including a no-deal exit scenario.  The Group Director indicated that communication had been received through the London Resilience Forum notifying that regional representations were taking place to inform the Secretary of State of the Brexit preparedness of individual local authorities and to identify emerging issues in this process.  It was likely that the Council (in partnership with other statutory bodies where necessary), would be required to complete a weekly status report on the borough’s preparedness for Brexit as the date of departure approached.

7.7  Understanding that Brexit will not be a one-off event but a longer-term process it was likely that divisions within the community brought on by the referendum would persist for the longer term.  In this context, the Panel sought to clarify what preparations the council was taking to support community cohesion.  In response, the Panel noted that the task and finish group had assessed both the short-term response and longer term impact of Brexit on community cohesion, and the Council would respond accordingly once the detail of the 29^th March departure had become clearer.

7.8  The Panel sought to assess the exposure of the council to any loss of EU funding post Brexit.  The Group Director reported that the council assessed both structural and skills & service funding stream to the council via the EU immediately after the Referendum in 2016.  It was noted that the council did not have the same financial exposure as regional governments to EU funding, particularly in terms of infrastructure projects.  It was also reported that unlike some other London Councils, Hackney had not accessed funds via the European Investment Bank.  It was noted however, that Brexit would mean that the Council would not be able to access EU funding for its skills and training agenda.

7.9  As other non-governmental organisations in the UK received EU funding, the Panel sought to clarify what support was being provided to such organisations to help reduce their dependency on this funding stream?  It was noted that a forum was planned to provide support to local businesses post Brexit.  It was expected that this forum would help to identify emerging issues businesses faced in response to Brexit and to help shape the Council’s response.  This would include lobbying central government on contingency plans for any withdrawal of EU funding to local businesses and other organisations.  It was noted that the Cabinet Member Community Safety, Policy, and the Voluntary Sector was developing the Voluntary Sector Strategy which would encompass how the voluntary sector made need to respond post-Brexit.