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 Business.

Giles Perritt (Assistant Chief Executive) and Kevin McKenzie (Policy and Intelligence Advisor) presented the Economic Impact and Business Preparedness item to the Committee –

(a)   The government’s own analysis forecasts that a no deal Brexit would reduce UK GDP by 7.6% after 15 years, while reaching a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU would lead to a 4.9% decline;

(b)  Differences remain over the level playing field, fishing rights and role of the ECJ;

(c)   If no agreement the UK would revert to trading under WTO rules on 31 December;

(d)  Any trade agreement must allow the UK to modify its labour laws and to set its environmental priorities;

(e)  The UK would not be bound by the dispute resolution mechanism;

(f)    Plymouth’s international exports in goods were valued at £742m in 2019, 14.2% of the city’s GVA;

(g)   In 2019, 489 (8.3%) Plymouth businesses exported goods to the EU and 757 (12.8%) of Plymouth’s businesses imported goods from EU countries;

(h)  The UK Government had taken the decision to introduce new border controls in three stages In January, April and July 2021;

(i)    A Border Control Post (BCP) was essential to keeping our continental trade routes open;

(j)    Our fishing fleet would be allowed to catch more fish but we export a high proportion of what we catch;

(k)  Plymouth had industrial sectors which disproportionately depend on migrant labour;

(l)    From 1 January 2021, free movement will end and the UK will introduce a points-based immigration system;

(m)Skilled workers would need to speak English have a job offer from a registered sponsor and earn over £25,600 p.a.;

(n)  Plymouth had a relatively low wage economy, in 2019, Plymouth’s pay stands at 93.2% of the UK average;

(o)  The Government declined recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee to include senior care workers and bricklayers on the Shortage Occupation List;

(p)  New processes for moving goods between GB and the EU are set out in the Border Operating Model;

(q)  The UK regulatory framework would diverge from EU law;

(r)   The UK would not weaken labour and environmental laws to encourage trade or investment;

(s)   The UK would set its labour and environmental priorities and adopt or modify its labour and environmental laws;

(t)   The UK government will cease to follow EU state aid rules in favour of the less restrictive WTO rules;

(u)  The UK would seek ‘adequacy decisions’ from the EU to maintain the continued free flow of personal data;

(v)   UKSPF would match EU funding to the devolved administrations but regional distribution unclear;

(w)Between 2014-2020 the HotSW LEP area received £120m of ESIF and ESF provided £26m to Devon;

(x)  Horizon Europe, currently provides c20% of our Marine research funding;

(y)   FDI supported businesses are some of our largest employers, employing roughly 7,900 people;

(z)   FDI reached a high point in 2019/20 with 12 new projects but the value of the investment projects is lower than previous years, at circa £94m;

(aa)Recent PMG event  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.