Council Brexit briefing as withdrawal nears
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UNCERTAINTY remains the watchword at Moray Council as EU withdrawal nears.
That was the view given this morning by the authority's chief auditor Atholl Scott, who was updating councillors on an Audit Scotland briefing paper on Scotland's readiness ahead of Friday's exit.
The body – which watches to ensure public money is spent properly – concluded the Scottish Government had made "reasonable and proportionate" preparations, given the level of uncertainty.
Within the wider public sector, which includes councils, similar conclusions were reached, although the briefing paper said preparing for withdrawal during 2019 diverted management attention and resources across the public sector.
Speaking at a meeting of the authority's audit and scrutiny committee, Mr Scott said: "This report comes at a fairly momentous time as we move towards Friday and our actual departure from the EU.
"I think that uncertainty remains the watchword and as we move into this period where there is going to be negotiation on all manner of things, there is a lot still to come out."
The Audit Scotland report highlighted a number of questions for public bodies to consider as the transition period plays out.
Some of these are specific around financial planning, staffing and supply chains, others continue the general theme of the need to identify and manage any risks identified in a proportionate manner.
Over the past three years, £98.6 million has been allocated to Scottish Government to manage the costs of preparing for the overhaul. Of that, £1.6 million was made available as local authority coordination funding – £50,000 per local authority.
In Moray, some of that has been used to part-fund an emergency planning officer, who will support any work to be co-ordinated by the council following departure.
A report to committee members stated: "Scottish Government has also allocated £105,980 from the operational contingency fund for no deal preparation costs associated with export certificates within environmental health.
"The service is presently looking to recruit additional temporary staff to deal with anticipated increased workloads in this area, again this will depend on negotiations that will take place after the departure date."
The report concluded that uncertainty will remain as the departure passes and arrangements for the way ahead are negotiated.
"The council will continue to work with Scottish Government and partners to ensure the impact of any changes are mitigated where these are within its control," the report read.
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