Today the UK Government released the first of an anticipated three batches of technical notices about the impact of a "no deal" scenario at the end of March 2019. These are available here. This first batch is of 25 and includes Banking, insurance and other financial services if there’s no Brexit deal, Civil nuclear regulation if there's a no deal, Trading with the EU if there's no Brexit deal, State aid if there's no Brexit deal and Workplace rights if there’s no Brexit deal. Over 50 further technical notices are expected before the end of September.
Similar notices produced by the EU, listed on the UK/EU Papers page of our Brexit Notes Blog (under the EU Brexit preparedness notices tab), simply set out the relevant EU entity's view of which rights would be lost in the event of a no deal scenario at the end of March 2019, and calls on business and individuals to adjust their behaviour accordingly. However, the UK's notices contain information on what the UK Government plans to do, unilaterally, to assist affected businesses and individuals through temporary waivers and derogations. For example:
- for financial services it reiterates the Government’s commitment to introduce a Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) that will allow EEA firms currently passporting into the UK to continue operating in the UK for up to three years after exit, while they apply for full authorisation from UK regulators;
- for human medicines the Government confirms that it will continue to recognise batch testing, Qualified Person (QP) certification and release of human medicines that has been carried out in the EU until the Government considers further change necessary, avoiding the need for these medicines to be re-tested in the UK.
As the clock ticks down to 29 March 2019, the UK and the EU are stepping up their preparations for the possibility of a “no-deal” outcome. From a corporate governance and risk management perspective, businesses that have not done so already should carry out a Brexit assurance process in order to identify all Brexit-related risks and, to the extent practicable, take appropriate and timely steps to respond to them. This article summarises at a high level the kinds of issues more generally that we are coming across in helping clients plan for a 'no-deal' Brexit. It supplements our pamphlet, Delivering Brexit: Putting Plans into Practice.
Should you wish to discuss how Brexit affects you and what to do in response, please get in touch. To keep up to date with our latest Brexit analysis, subscribe to our Brexit blog.
Disclaimer
The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.