Welsh Government no deal Brexit action plan published

17 Sep 2019 10:01 AM

The Welsh Government yesterday published an overview of its no deal Brexit action plan.

The plan sets out the potential consequences of a no deal Brexit on all aspects of Welsh life and summarises the measures being taken to help to limit some of the worst effects of leaving without a deal.

But Welsh Ministers warned that no action either the Welsh Government or the UK government can take is capable of protecting the country from the full impact of harm caused by a no deal Brexit.

Unlike the Operation Yellowhammer assumptions, which the UK government was compelled to publish by Parliament last week, the Welsh Government’s plan is being published to help people in Wales understand the true scale of disruption expected in the event of no deal and the work carried out to mitigate the worst impacts.

Brexit Minister Jeremy Miles yesterday said:

We are publishing this overview of our no deal action plan in the interests of transparency. We are doing all in our power to limit the damage that will be caused by a no deal Brexit.

We hope that we won’t need to take the steps set out in this plan, but make no mistake, a no deal Brexit will damage Wales. The UK government’s own planning assumptions, revealed last week, predict rising fuel prices, shortages of some foods, protests and delays at ports, and those on low incomes being disproportionately affected – this is not project fear but project fact.

Leaving the EU without a deal is not remotely a viable option, it is intentionally steering the ship towards the rocks. The best way to avoid a shipwreck is to change course and we will not apologise for continuing to make the case for that as forcefully as we can.

But we have a duty to prepare for what could happen and we are continuing to do so, even though it will be impossible to fully mitigate the impact of a no deal.

Many of the actions set out in the plan are intended to react to a specific consequence of leaving the EU without a deal, such as a rise in unemployment or shortages caused by disruptions to imports. Not every action in the plan may be needed in the event of a no deal.

The Welsh Government’s preparations are focused on 4 main areas:

The Welsh Government has worked continuously since 2016 to prepare for Brexit and achieve the best possible outcome. Key actions include:

The action plan provides a strategic overview of a range of risks associated with a no deal Brexit. Ministers will provide more detail on a range of interventions in specific statements over the coming weeks.

No deal action plan

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