SWINDON businesses are ready for Brexit - according to the councillor in charge of the preparation team.

Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for economy and place Oliver Donachie is part of a group helping businesses to prepare for Brexit.

He said: “Work has been ongoing and reviewed monthly. We are keeping up with all the concerns that businesses have raised.

“The main one is the employment of EU nationals, which has been there since the start.

“We are incredibly eager to retain people from the EU because they are very valued hardworking people and and we want to make sure that they are not disrupted in any way and their skills are retained.

“Putting aside the politics of the rights and wrongs of Brexit, it’s going to happen, I’ve been tasked with making sure businesses go through it comfortably, and I’m happy with the level of work that has been done.

“We are ready and have plans and responses prepared for all the concerns we can see.

“As a business owner myself, I would urge other business owners to go through the checklist on the government’s Brexit portal that deals with EORIs for products and everything needed to export goods between the EU and UK.

“There’s a ‘Brexit house check’ that takes five minutes on the portal and people may be surprised with what’s required of them, especially if they import and export or come from the EU, so everyone should take a look at it."

https://www.gov.uk/get-ready-brexit-check