Dawlish News
see article back page of this week's Dawlish Post.
(plus adjacent article concerning food and Brexit)
I asked Devon County Council what Brexit impact assessments it has made thus far and from the assessments what, if any, contingency plans. This is part of the answer which I received today.
"To date, DCC has not conducted “impact assessments” as such as the form that Brexit will take has been very uncertain, so judging any impacts is currently very difficult. However, DCC is monitoring developments closely ahead and will consider what, if any, contingencies might be required ahead of the UK’s exit from the European Union in March 2019."
I was also directed to this document dated January 2018 https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/documents/s13942/Brexit%20report.pdf
You can bet your bottom dollar anything they may do. Will be to spend even less money on essential maintenance for which the ratepayer pays through the nose for......in my opinion.
Because, of course, before we joined the EEC/EC/EU life in this country was just like that.
You're old enough to know better, Mrs C.
Our world has got way bigger since the days of the ration book.
The people that the likes of you are appealing to really don’t understand the real implications of a no deal Brexit.
I wonder if all those ex pat (British immigrant) retirees in the EU will have a sense of humour if their UK pensions cannot be paid into their EU bank accounts?
Both TDC and DCC have been, and are, involved with the Heart of the South West's Brexit Resilience and Opportunities Group which is undertaking research into some of the potential issues and impacts of Brexit. I am told that this work is being undertaken in partnership with the Local Enterprise Partnership and other local councils across Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay.
Here's a link for that organisation should you wish to find out more.
https://heartofswlep.co.uk/news/brexit-opportunities-resilience-group-update/
I have emailed them and asked the following question: "I would like to know what Brexit impact/risk assessments local authorities in the south west have undertaken and what subsequent contingency planning is being considered based on those impact/risk assessments."
I have received an acknowledgement of my request but am told that the person who should answer my question is presently on holiday. Fair enough. So I'll chase them up in a week or two.
This is Exeter City Council's take on Brexit.
Brexit and Exeter
The risks
Despite Exeter’s resilience and growth in recent years Brexit is a cause for concern.
Exeter has very strong ties with the EU market, with 70% of current exports heading to EU countries. Research suggests that as a result of Brexit, Exeter will be the most affected area in Devon & Somerset:
- A ‘soft’ Brexit will result in a reduction of 1.2% in gross value added
- A ‘hard’ Brexit a 2.4% reduction in gross value added.
From: https://exeter.gov.uk/business/business-support/brexit-and-exeter/
Well, I am taking whatever measures I can that I think might be necessary in case of a catastrophic hard Brexit.
What preparations for Brexit others decide to do, or not, is entirely up to them.
Food- a link here concerning Cornish food production. But I suspect similar stories can be found from around the whole of the UK
Brexit leaves Cornwall fruit farmers struggling to find pickers and fearing for future
Three out of five British growers of soft fruit and stone fruits (61%) are having trouble hiring seasonal workers from the EU and two thirds (63%) have reported a drop in applications for seasonal work. Four out of five (78%) expect to produce less fruit in future, while 32% have already decided to reduce investment in their businesses
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/brexit-leaves-cornwall-fruit-farmers-1942763
24 million slices of bread
235,000 whole chickens
1.4 million bananas
660,000 eggs
4.4 million apples
Half of all fresh potatoes purchased.
So folk are worried about food shortages if we have a hard Brexit but the above is thrown in the bin every DAY maybe if food was a little tight we wouldnt waste as much.
Ah! Got it now! Brexit is all about not wasting food!
PS Where did you get those statistics from? You haven't given your source.
You are the one who has on more than one occasion mentioned food shortages all i am saying is we waste huge amounts of food and if things did get tight we may learn not to waste as much.
Food waste in England - Parliament (publications) - Parliament UK
We import about 50% of our food and Brexit will mess up our food imports quite a chunk of which comes in from the EU.
But we don't need Brexit to address the issue of food wastage.
Brexit may well bring us a food shortage. You have to have the food in the first instance in order to waste it.
I wonder how Joe and Josephine public will react when they see the empty shelves in the supermarkets?
Do you think they will have any time for sermons on how not to waste food?
And then of course there's the issue of medicines that we import from the EU...........
Seeing as you've mentioned it.
Web results
Operation Yellowhammer: 'No-deal' Brexit plans leaked - Sky News
Operation Yellowhammer: Leaked 'no-deal' Brexit details are quite ...
Operation Yellowhammer! Official lets slip codename of government's ...
Operation Yellowhammer - The Sun
What does Operation Yellowhammer mean? Bizarre theories behind ...
I dont believe there will be a deal am i concerned at that prospect not at all i welcome it with open arms it may be a opportunity to toughen up our snowflake society.
Dover District Council and Kent County Council have both independently suggested that a plan for a 13-mile Brexit lorry park on the southbound M20 motorway could be needed for four years or more.
https://news.sky.com/story/councils-preparing-for-social-unrest-amid-brexit-uncertainty-11455918
We can make our own rules ...why not?..we used to. Why should EU tell is what to do all the time.
Maybe UK are just not capable of making decisions in 2018.
"The impact of EU law varies from sector to sector. In many areas - public order, crime, defence, health - EU laws have minimal impact. But in others - workers' rights, trade - the impact is much greater because the single market and the free movement of workers are at the heart of what the EU is about. The way we organise our NHS is not."
From: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36473105
I think our Westminster politicians have just become lazy after having the EU increasingly make more of our laws over the last four decades. Once we are out they will have to get used to working again.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/12169948/Britains-farms-would-thrive-outside-of-the-EU.html
"Food prices could rise sharply and farming businesses could be wiped out at the end of a Brexit transition period, a House of Commons committee has warned.
dairy, sheep and cereals would be hit hardest by tariffs on the export front.
Sheep farmers could be “devastated”, with farmers in Wales and Northern Ireland who export about 90% of their lamb products unlikely to survive a 50% tariff.
From: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/feb/18/farming-businesses-could-be-wiped-out-after-brexit-transition
Main meal ingredients for the last seven days the only thing i have purchased that was not produced in the UK are string beans from Kenya and my meals have been meat and veg every day if we change our eating habits we can eat BRITISH and farmers will thrive. Back to basics food is the way forward meat and veg thats all you need for a healthy diet, but remember we can also impose high tariffs on food from Europe it works both ways i wonder how French producers will cope with a 50% duty on wine, cheese,etc.
From what I have read in order for the UK to become more self sufficient with regard to food production (please note not totally self sufficient) we would all have to eat less meat.
Personally I don't have a problem with that but those who like their meat might. And land that might be suitable for sheep to graze on may not be suitable to grow crops on.
On the subject of eating British produce. Does anyone know of any farms (preferably local) that grow citrus fruits?
All the citrus i buy are grown in South Africa i refuce to buy EU produced citrus fruit and it's no more expensive.
I thought you liked to buy local produce? Southern europe (as we are talking about citrus fruit) is a lot nearer to the UK than South Africa and if the price is the same it makes sense to me to buy the produce that has travelled fewer miles in order to get here.
The link that Leatash posted above is about possible civil unrest in the event of food, medicinal and other shortages post Brexit, click here to read it https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/police-fear-no-deal-brexit_uk_5b94ecc8e4b0cf7b0040a965
I do buy local but there are things we cant or dont grow and citrus is one of those so as i dislike the EU with a passion it's the lesser of two evils. And remember at the moment the hedgerows are full of good food my jam pan is working overtime and the freezer has twelve months of stewed apples and blackberries all i need is a drop of custard for a great pudding.
Well I've a load of green beans in mine but that doesn't mean to say that I would want to be eating only them day in, day out.
And on the subject of stocking up on food.........
A no-deal Brexit survival guide: what food to stockpile | Politics | The ...
Stockpile for Brexit victory — the gourmet guide | Financial Times
A no-deal Brexit survival guide: what food to stockpile - MSN.com
The scientific guide to stockpiling food for a 'no deal' Brexit | New ...
Food stockpiling for a 'no deal' Brexit: this is what you need to know
Brexit: No-deal would lead to immediate food and medicine shortages ...
A no-deal Brexit survival guide: what food to stockpile | Politics ...
Brexit: What would 'no deal' mean for food and medicine? - BBC News
[PDF]Brexit - Food and Drink
Why stockpiling food won't save the UK from a Brexit disaster | WIRED ...
Why not when i was a kid it was meat and veg every day in one form or another leftovers in soups and pies, for tea bread and jam and cake all homemade breakfast was porridge on a Sunday fried breakfast, and now my diet is about the same as it was then.
Because this is some 60+ years on from when you were a kid and whilst you may have had and have a diet like that many do not and never have had.
Times have changed and moved on.
And assuming that the ingredients for all this home cooking were to be available, who would be doing all the prepping and cooking?
Lynne my diet over the years has changed little my kids eat the same it takes little or no time to prep and cook simple meals folk have lost the skills it's to easy to open a jar or tin. I am going to collect rose hips for the rest of the day to make syrup that has 20 times more vitamin c than a orange folk need to learn these skills again it's not rocket science. My advice is prep food the night before instead of sitting and watching rubbish on the telly or playing games on the latest teck.
Rose hip syrup. Yuck! I most certainly remember that from my childhood.
I'm not disputing that it is easy to open a tin. What I was asking about was the cooking from scratch which is what I thought you were suggesting people should do.
I think it is something to do with local councils and their preparation (or not) for a hard Brexit and what a hard Brexit might bring. Which, amongst other shortages, could be food.
But to bring this thread more directly back on track, here is a link concerning local councils and Brexit (although admittedly Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council are not mentioned in it).
https://news.sky.com/story/councils-preparing-for-social-unrest-amid-brexit-uncertainty-11455918
December 2018 - Devon County Council not Brexit stockpiling
Q2: In preparation for Brexit, I want to find out if there has been any stockpiling of goods, or any planned. Has there been any stockpiling?
Devon County Council has not, to date, stockpiled any goods as preparation for the UK’s departure from the EU.
Perhaps someone should draw DCC's attention to this:
"Food will be affected by Brexit on all levels, regardless of the outcome of the Parliamentary vote on the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. As the date for leaving the EU approaches, preparations to ensure we have a safe, adequate and sustainable food supply need to start urgently. Local Authorities (LAs) have a vital part to play in these preparations, but Government has so far neglected to provide guidance.
LAs have an important role in the UK’s food system, with responsibilities including the enforcement of food safety and standards regulation, the control of imported food at ports and airports and the certification of foods for export. They also have unique knowledge of relevant local professionals, institutions, businesses and networks.
This briefing aims to help Local Authorities prepare for Food Brexit. It shows why LAs should prepare Food Brexit Plans, and outlines five courses of action they could consider.
The briefing recommends that Local Authorities:
- Create Food Resilience Teams
- Anticipate and reduce the impact of Food Brexit, particularly on SMEs
- Narrow the information gap and treat the public openly and fairly
- Prepare for public engagement
- Be a local food voice so that central government knows the local realities."
https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/local-authorities-food-brexit/
From looking at the press release found via the link I've given above, it seems the briefing paper (which can also be accessed by the link I've given above) has been sent to all councils.
So DCC and TDC councillors take note (and even, perhaps, DTC councillors?)
Perhaps The Lawn in Dawlish might become a communal allotment after all........
