9. Will the Counsel General make a statement on the capacity of the Welsh Government to manage a no-deal exit from the EU? OAQ53626

Whilst the effects of leaving without a deal cannot be completely mitigated, we are doing all that we can to prepare for this eventuality. Staff across the organisation have been told to prioritise this work, and we have filled 127 additional Brexit-related posts, with a further 53 in train.

Thank you for that answer, Counsel General.

Now, whilst we're here, it's obviously nine days away from the legal date on which we are supposed to be leaving the EU, yet we don't know whether we'll be leaving the EU with a deal, with no deal, or maybe an extension. And I'm sure that the chaos we are seeing comes from a shambolic Government in Westminster. But you, as a Welsh Government, have to manage that chaos here in Wales. Now, you've just identified that you've got 124 extras, with 50-odd in train beyond that; is that going to be enough for next Friday if we go without a deal? What implications does that have for other business of the Welsh Government? Can we ensure that we can deliver the services to the people of Wales that they need and continue to want and desire following Brexit without a deal? Because, unfortunately, the way we are going, the shambles we are seeing, that’s a very strong possibility.

Well, the Member invites me to say, 'Don't worry, it'll be fine on the day', and I'm not going to say that, because that's not the position of level of reassurance that we can give.

In relation to preparedness generally, we've been careful to be specific about what we think the situations are in relation to different levels of preparedness, because I think that's the most helpful way of giving people in Wales an understanding of what we are doing, what the UK Government are doing, and what our expectations are, for example, if you're a business owner. So, we've tried to be very specific in relation to the advice that we are giving.

On the question of the resources of Government to deal with this, clearly the resources of Government are stretched thin in relation to preparing for Brexit. That is true in Wales; it’s true in all parts of the UK, because this is an additional burden that, certainly here in Wales, we don't welcome. Within the context of doing that, we have been recruiting, as he will know in his capacity as Chair of the relevant committee, significant numbers—obviously, significantly less than is happening across the UK, for reasons that are obvious. Does that involve taking people from doing other important things? Yes. Would we prefer not to have to do that? Yes. But, in the context that we are in, until we know that 'no deal' is not a possible outcome—and we are certainly nowhere near that as I stand here today—we are going to have to continue deploying the resources that we have to make sure that, where we can mitigate the worst excesses of 'no deal', we can try and do that. But I just want to be clear for the Member that we have been categorical that it is not possible to mitigate for the impact of 'no deal' either in the short term or in the long term, fully.

Thank you very much, Counsel General. Diolch.