WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
![]() |
LGA responds to NAO report into Brexit medicine ‘delays’
Cllr Kevin Bentley, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Brexit Taskforce has responded to the National Audit Office’s report into the challenges facing the health and social care sectors accessing the medicines they need in the event of a no deal Brexit.
Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Brexit Taskforce, said:
“Councils are doing all they can to prepare for Brexit and continue to work tirelessly to ensure their communities and businesses, including social care providers, are as prepared as they can.
“While Brexit affects local areas in different ways, supporting people to remain safe and healthy in their homes and preventing them from relying on higher level care is our main priority. Doing so means ensuring the continuation of the supply of medicines and medical products following Brexit.
“Councils are concerned that if there are medicine shortages in the social care sector it could have an impact on important local services that children and adults of all ages with a range of different conditions rely on. Councils with major ports also need adequate funding to deal with the impact of changes to processes and flows at ports on the surrounding roads and infrastructure.
“This is on top of the existing fragility of social care system, with latest figures showing that councils in England receive nearly 5,000 new requests for adult social care every single day.
“In the meantime, the LGA will continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and partners locally on how best to support the most vulnerable.
“We will also continue to work with councils to identify the issues which need to be addressed at a national level, including contingency planning to support social care providers, thereby ensuring our communities are as prepared as they can be.”