Harrogate and North Yorkshire councils to dip into £40m Brexit planning pool

Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council will be among the authorities to tap into a £40m Government funding pool for Brexit planning.
Harrogate Borough Council will get 32k in Government funds for Brexit planning.Harrogate Borough Council will get 32k in Government funds for Brexit planning.
Harrogate Borough Council will get 32k in Government funds for Brexit planning.

Secretary of state for ministry of housing, communities and local government James Brokenshire announced the funding for councils across the country on Monday.

Harrogate district will receive £35k over the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years, split evenly across the years.

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North Yorkshire county will receive a total of £175k across the same period.

All other county and district councils across the country will receive the same funding arrangement in what is a £40m up-front package provided by the Government.

In a statement, Mr Brokenshire said the funding was aimed at helping council's plan for the impacts of Brexit.

Mr Brokenshire added local authorities would "play a critical role in making a success of Brexit at the local level".

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He said the funding wouldn't be the only help for councils if they were impacted by costs associated with Brexit.

"This funding will help councils to adapt to changes caused by Brexit, while still protecting vital local services,"he said.

"This will not be the only resources councils receive to fund Brexit costs. Government has been clear that Departments will assess and, if appropriate, fund any potential new burdens arising on councils as part of EU Exit work they are undertaking."

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said the authority had worked at regional level as well as with Government regarding Brexit implications ahead of the funding announcement.

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"At a regional level we have been working with the Local Resilience Forum to review our business continuity plans and have been assessing the impact of key risks on the delivery of our services. We are also using advice provided by the Local Government Association on the government’s technical notes to inform our service planning process," the spokesperson said.

"We also remain engaged with business both directly through our economic development team and also through our two local enterprise partnerships."

On Tuesday, North Yorkshire’s executive agreed on a set of budget recommendations in the face of "challenges and unprecedented uncertainty" in the coming years.

By the end of 2018/19 the County Council will have secured over £157m in savings, with a further £40.3m required in the next three years to meet a £200m austerity challenge by 2021/22 – an overall reduction of nearly 40 per cent in its spending power since 2011.

Lachlan Leeming, Local Democracy Reporter