Councillors will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

In accordance with the code of conduct the following declarations of interest were made –

To receive reports on business which in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s Urgent Busines.

Giles Perritt (Assistant Chief Executive) and Kevin McKenzie (Policy and Intelligence Advisor) presented this item. The report highlighted the following key areas -

(a)   Outlined the current strategic context as at the end of October 2020; currently a trade deal with the EU had not yet been agreed in principle, therefore it was assumed that the reasonable worst case scenario was an ‘Australian Style’ deal. The assessment would be reviewed in the event a deal was agreed;

(b)  Identified strategic risks and opportunities in the medium to long term as well as the actions that were needed to be taken now to prepare for the end of the transition period keeping in mind that this may coincide with a local or national COVID 19 lockdown;

(c)   The UK Internal Market Bill aims to rely on the principles of mutual recognition and non-discrimination to ensure there are no new barriers for businesses trading across the UK. However, there is widespread concern that the bill breaks international law and the European Commission has referred the matter to the European Court which has jurisdiction;

(d)  The UK government had made it clear that if no agreement was reached the UK would revert to trading under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules;

(e)   Unemployment and at risk sectors - a number of sectors which have been impacted by COVID 19 were at risk of further impacts from Brexit, particularly the hospitality and tourism sector and manufacturing sector. It is estimated unemployment may reach 16,000 by Christmas; it was likely that many people on furlough would not have jobs to return to and numbers will be further swelled by school leavers who choose not to attend university;

(f)    Most economists agreed that the economic impact of Brexit was likely to be negative and this may mean that we experience short term direct impacts such as contract price increases. In the medium to longer term we may also see indirect impacts such as a loss of business rates due to business closure or relocation. A larger number of families would be pushed into poverty and debt, potentially becoming more reliant on Council services and increasing Council Tax arrears. The impact of EU citizens choosing to leave the UK may reduce Council income from Council Tax and grants which are calculated on a per capita basis;

(g)   From 01 January 2021, it would be expected to issue Catch Certificates and to meet requests for Export Health Certificates, which is estimated to increase by 300%. From April it will be required to make documentary checks on products of animal origin entering the port. A quarter of the freight entering the port was likely to require a check. From 01 July we would have to operate a fully staffed Border Control Post to undertake documentary and physical checks on products of animal origin entering the port;

(h)  A Trade Bill was currently transiting parliament and trade negotiations with the EU were ongoing at the time of writing. Government publicity  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.