*BRIEFING BY DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER DR JOSEPH GARCIA - REVEALED IN FULL

NATIONAL READINESS ACTION PLAN TO COMBAT ‘NO DEAL’ BREXIT

  • Printer friendly view
 Monday, September 2, 2019 - 09:31

PART TWO

PRIVATE SECTOR BRIEFINGS: TRADE

There have been over 50 briefings given to public sector organisations and individual companies.

The Department of the Environment and HM Customs have led on this subject. The DoE alone has held over 90 meetings including with food suppliers and importers, both collectively and individually. 

FINANCIAL SERVICES

All financial services firms impacted by Brexit are in direct contact with the regulator, the GFSC, as the firms licensing position dictates their ability to trade cross border.

The Government of Gibraltar and HMG have agreed that Gibraltar licences entities can continue to passport into the UK in Financial Services. All firms trading with UK are unaffected.

Those who rely on EU passports have been working closely with GFSC to obtain passport from elsewhere or to look at other options.

The huge majority of Gibraltar’s business, over 90%, is UK facing.

GAMING

The Government have met with and engaged with every single firm impacted by Brexit, as has the regulator. They have all made arrangements to manage their EU facing business from elsewhere.

No Deal Brexit briefings have been provided specially to the Chamber of Commerce, the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, the Hindu Merchants Association, the Trade Unions and the Environmental Safety Group.

PUBLIC INFORMATION: BOOKLET TO BE SENT TO ALL HOMES, AND BREXIT INFORMATION OFFICE TO OPEN ON 1ST OCTOBER

The Government has a duty to release public information in a way that does not cause alarm or panic to the general population.

The message is to prepare and not to panic.

A Brexit Information section has been added to the opening page of the Gibraltar Government website www.gibraltar.gov.gi

The Government have issued 23 Technical Notices for a No Deal Brexit.

This was followed by an advertising campaign in the Gibraltar press in the run up to a potential EU exit on 12 April.

The public have responded to the Government’s public information campaign. For example, to date we have issued 3094 of the 1949 International Driving Permit (IDP) and 807 of the 1968 version.

On 11 April the UK formally stood down contingency planning on the basis of the agreed extension until 31 October. However, in Gibraltar the Brexit Executive Group has continued to meet and to plan throughout this period.

The Government has already announced that our public information campaign will be intensified in the run to 31 October.

- Technical Notices will be issued again.

- Advertising in the local press will be renewed.

- A booklet containing the National Readiness Action Plan will be circulated to all households in Gibraltar.

- Advice will continue to be given directly to companies and organisations in those areas where they, as opposed to individual citizens, are expected to prepare.

- A Brexit Information Office in the centre of town was identified three months ago, works are nearly complete, and the current plan is to open this on 1 October.

PART THREE TOMORROW

02-09-2019 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR