Hammond accused of failing to fund no-deal plans
PHILIP HAMMOND has been accused by Cabinet colleagues of failing to provide the money needed to prepare Britain for a no-deal Brexit, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
James Brokenshire, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, has written to the Treasury warning that a no-deal Brexit could put pressure on councils as they face a potential “influx” of elderly expats and the risk of civil unrest on the streets.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was given £35million to help councils prepare for Brexit, less than half of the amount it requested. Mr Brokenshire warned that the failure to provide more funding would lead to a “significant risk of disruption”.
The Telegraph understands that at least one other department has complained about the Chancellor’s failure to release more money for no-deal preparations. A source said: “The Treasury is not releasing the money. It’s all very well for Philip Hammond to tell Cabinet he’s putting £2billion into no-deal preparations, but it’s no good if they won’t actually release the money.”
It came as Jean-claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission claimed that the majority of British MPS “deeply distrust” Theresa May over Brexit. He also suggested the British public were being “entirely unreasonable” in expecting a better offer, and suggested politicians, “get their act together”.
The UK is now intensifying no-deal preparations with suggestions that Cabinet could meet on Wednesday to discuss the latest contingency plans.
In his letter to the Treasury, sent shortly before Christmas, Mr Brokenshire said his department did not have enough to prepare for Brexit whether Britain leaves with or without a deal.
He said: “If councils are not given the funding they need now to prepare, we are at increased risk of disruption in the medium to longer term.
Mr Brokenshire highlighted the work of local resilience forums, which bring together local authorities, the
NHS and other public authorities to deal with emergencies such as flooding. He said: “To ensure local areas are prepared for a range of disruption (eg civil unrest) that could arise in a deal or no-deal scenario, it is vital that we resource LRFS now to make sure they can undertake essential planning.”
Mr Brokenshire also said the Treasury must give assurances that European development funding, which is used to regenerate parts of the UK, would be guaranteed by the Government in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The Housing Secretary also said local authorities should be able to bid for emergency government funding to cover the cost of short-term disruption in a no-deal scenario. “We need to offer the sector reassurance that if they act responsibly by using up some of their reserves, they will be recompensed.”
The Treasury said it did not comment on leaks, but a source said that it had committed £4.2billion on Brexit preparations since 2016.
An MHCLG spokesman said: “MHCLG is committed to working with local government and local leaders to ensure they are adequately prepared to respond to any Brexit scenario.”
♦ Concerns have been raised over a firm awarded a £13.8m contract to run extra ferries in the event of no deal, despite having never run a ferry service. Kent county councillor Paul Messenger said it was impossible for the Government to have carried out sufficient checks on Seaborne Freight.
However, the Government said it had awarded the contract in “the full knowledge that Seaborne is a new shipping provider”.
Ben Sharp, chief executive of Seaborne Freight, said the firm had been founded by “seasoned shipping veterans”.