Dundee council to absorb cost of Brexit preparations ‘without government support’

Dundee City Council is set to single-handedly absorb the cost of preparing for Brexit, a senior council officer has suggested.

Andrea Calder, head of chief executive’s services, said there had been “no additional funding” forthcoming from government to pay for Brexit preparations.

In January the UK Government announced a £56.5 million pot for authorities in England to prepare for Brexit, which will happen by October 31 unless a further extension is sought by Number 10.

There is no suggestion of a similar pot for Scotland in the latest Budget, despite Holyrood pledging millions to support businesses and the rural economy.

Umbrella body Cosla, which represents councils in Scotland, has asked ministers for extra cash.

The funding hole came to light after Ferry Lib Dem councillor Craig Duncan asked about Brexit costs at a meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee.

He said: “We have been preparing information concerning residents and so forth – has this council had any money from any government to help us prepare?”

Ms Calder replied: “At this moment I am not aware of any additional funding for Brexit.”

Mr Duncan responded: “So the short answer is no.”

A spokesman for Cosla said: “There is no doubt that councils are incurring significant additional costs right now in relation to Brexit. Our budget settlement made no mention of it including additional revenue to meets these costs and we have therefore requested financial support from the Scottish Government.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said its recently-launched Stay In Scotland package included £250,000 of funding for “community-based support”.

She added: “We are continuing to work with local government to prepare for the EU exit and will consider carefully any requests for additional funding that arise from that process.”

However, it is understood that Scottish ministers expect councils, including Dundee, to use some of the annual grant they receive from Holyrood to prepare for any and all permutations of Brexit.

A Holyrood source said: “The budget must be used by councils to deliver services effectively, including supporting communities with Brexit preparations.”

Council officers are preparing for a deal being reached between the UK and Brussels rather than a no deal, according to Dundee City Council chief executive David Martin.

He said: “Although ‘no deal’ remains a possible future outcome, the assumption (is) that any exit before 31 October will be on the basis of an agreement.”