How is the Welsh Government preparing for Brexit?

Further information

The first part of the report focused on scenario planning and engagement, whilst the second part of the report examined preparedness of public services and the economy.

In terms of scenario planning and engagement, the Committee made a number of recommendations aimed at the Welsh Government, including that the Welsh Government should:

+ undertake urgent examination of the likely parameters of various Brexit scenarios, including a 'no deal scenario';
+ publish the sectoral analysis of impacts of Brexit on the Welsh Government’s nine priority sectors;
+ improve communication with individual organisations through greater encouragement of representative bodies to cascade information to those organisations; and
+ issue, as soon as practically possible, clear and accessible guidance to businesses, public sector organisations, and the third sector on what the implications of various Brexit scenarios, including a 'no deal' scenario, could mean for those organisations.

With regards to preparedness of public services and the economy for Brexit, the Committee recommended that the Welsh Government:

+ seek clarity from the UK Government on how the proposed Shared Prosperity Fund would be allocated and administered;
+ publish, in conjunction with the Higher Education Working Group, any work done in reviewing its strategy in relation to research and innovation in the higher education sector to take account of the implications of Brexit in this area; and
+ set out how it intends to spend the anticipated consequential allocations arising from additional money being spent at UK level to prepare for Brexit and clarifies whether these will be ring-fenced for supporting activities in relation to Brexit in Wales. The External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee of the National Assembly for Wales published a report How is the Welsh Government preparing for Brexit? in February 2018.

The Welsh Government gave its formal response to the report on the 12 April 2018. The report and Welsh Government response was debated in Plenary on 18 April 2018.

• Primary Source

Wales: National Assembly for Wales: Assembly Business: Committees http://www.assembly.wales/en/bus-home/committees/Pages/committees.aspx

Wales: National Assembly for Wales: Assembly Business: External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee: Inquiry: Resilience and preparedness: the Welsh Government’s administrative and financial response to Brexit, 2017-2018 http://senedd.assembly.wales/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=19994

Wales Council for Voluntary Action: Policy and Projects, 27.02.18: Welsh Government preparedness for Brexit: Our response https://www.wcva.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-latest/2018/02/welsh-government-preparedness-for-brexit-our-response

ESO: Find more information on Wales and the EU Referendum, 23 June 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/advSearchLink?keyword=brexit%20wales%20&searchOption=all

Wales: National Assembly for Wales: Assembly Business: External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee: Inquiry: Resilience and preparedness: the Welsh Government’s administrative and financial response to Brexit, 2017-2018: Welsh Government Response to Recommendations from the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee Report: How is the Welsh Government preparing for Brexit?, April 2018 http://senedd.assembly.wales/documents/s74155/Welsh%20Government%20Response%20to%20Recommendations%20from%20the%20External%20Affairs%20and%20Additional%20Legislation%20Co.pdf

Senedd Home, 06.02.18: How well is the Welsh Government preparing for Brexit? https://seneddhome.com/2018/02/how-well-is-the-welsh-government-preparing-for-brexit/

Wales: National Assembly for Wales: Senedd Research: In Brief, 16.04.18: How is the Welsh Government Preparing for Brexit? https://seneddresearch.blog/2018/04/16/how-is-the-welsh-government-preparing-for-brexit/

WalesOnline, 08.01.18: The Welsh Government is spending £50m on Brexit https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-government-spending-50m-brexit-14123498

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