I wish to make a freedom of information request about any impact assessments Devon County Council has carried out on SMEs importing and exporting goods AND services to the EU. I assume these assessments will have been made for a Chequers style deal, or Canada +++ If these have not been carried out I would like to know why not?
Devon County Council has not carried out an assessment of the impacts of the UK leaving the EU on small and medium sized enterprises in Devon which trade goods and services with the EU. However, the report of the Head of Economy, Enterprise and Skills to the Corporate, Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee meeting on 31 January 2018 summarised the opportunities and impacts, including trade, of Brexit on the Devon economy. That report is available via the link below:
We are awaiting advice from the Local Government Association before assessing the wide range of likely impacts on the Council. The Council has requested a copy of any assessment of Brexit impacts on local government undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities. In respect of the preparation of national impact assessments on businesses of all sizes, this is the responsibility of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). We have not been advised of how BEIS intends to support businesses locally including SME’s.