Ministers still do not know if NHS can cope with no deal, says watchdog

[Northerner]

Ministers will not know whether there are enough medicines, medical supplies or freight capacity to support the NHS if the UK leaves the EU without a deal next month, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.

With just five weeks to Britain’s scheduled withdrawal on 31 October, the National Audit Office (NAO) said there were still risks, with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) still to do a “significant amount” of work .

In a critical report, the government’s “reasonable worst case” assumption is that the flow of goods across the Channel could be reduced to 40-60% of current levels on day one. Auditors said the data available did not show that the department was ready, or would be ready, if the UK were to leave the EU on the planned date.

Meg Hillier, the chair of the public accounts committee, said the report was deeply concerning and could result in the “gravest of consequences”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ll-do-not-know-nhs-cope-no-deal-brexit-report

 

[Andy HB]

"Planned Date" in this context is an oxymoron.

 

[mikeyB]

I don’t know why Johnson keeps talking of the possibility of a no deal, theoretically that’s not possible in accordance with the Benn Act. If there is no acceptable deal, there has to be an extension requested for a General Election and/or a new referendum.

Of course, he and his puppet master are beavering away at how to break the law.

I expect when the Tories are conferencing, the anti no-deal MPs will be busy closing any loopholes in the Act.

 

[Docb]

I watched quite a bit of the supreme court hearing and even to an amateur it seemed that the government were not trying hard to try and win it. It was if they had been advised they were going to loose and had been told that from the moment prorogation was first mooted. If that was so, then knowingly doing something unlawful was considered by Downing street to be a reasonable thing to do. If so, doing it again with respect to the Benn act is a reasonable thing to expect. Ignore it, go through the courts, lose again and see what happens

The whole thing has little to do with deals or no deals or even staying or leaving the EU. It is all about creating an atmosphere that will keep Johnson and the cabal around him in power. God help us if it is sucessful