CIPFA conference warns local authorities on Brexit preparations

Councils have “a lot more to do” to prepare public services for Brexit, a CIPFA conference has heard.

Addressing CIPFA’s conference The day after Brexit: What it all means for your authority, Dan Burke, partner at PriceWaterhouseCooper, has warned that social services could be stretched if UK citizens living abroad return.

Burke told delegates: “Local public services are starting to get prepared, but there’s a lot more to do.

According to Burke, there are roughly 800,000 UK nationals currently living abroad. He warned that if older nationals returned to areas with already high adult social care pressures, this could put extra strain on authorities.

He added that councils needed to work out what legislation they were adhering to in areas such as health and safety, and food and animal checks.

“A number of functions are defined by EU standards and regulations,” he said.

Burke also called on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve its preparedness. He stated:

“MHCLG has only commissioned one piece of work – an impact assessment of the cost of UK nationals coming back to the UK after Brexit."

Also addressing the conference, Bob Swarup, economist at Camdor Global, said:

“Local authority balance sheets are fundamentally changing – that began with austerity but Brexit has accentuated it.

“There is a perverse agenda of devolution, where councils are being forced to become more independent, and this brings new challenges of governance and complexity,” he added.