Businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire are being urged to take advantage of help and advice being offered to make the best of Brexit.
鈥楤rexit is happening and firms in Coventry and Warwickshire must seek help if they still feel unprepared鈥 鈥 was the message from a key business event held recently.
Around 50 companies attended the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce鈥檚 Brexit Hub event at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth to hear from expert speakers in trade, immigration and the service sector.
It was the latest in a series of events put on by the chamber since the EU referendum but was the first to take place since the 海角视频 officially left the European Union at the end of January this year.
David Hooper, who runs international trade consultancy Hooper & Co, told firms they have just a few months to get their house in order but that there was help 鈥 and money 鈥 available to prepare.
He said: 鈥淭here is a lot we do know but, of course, the Government can change its mind on some of the detail as negotiations progress.
鈥淗owever, we know Brexit is happening and we know we are leaving the customs union and the single market. It looks very unlikely that the transition period will be extended beyond January 2021.鈥
Border checks
Mr Hooper added: 鈥淢ichael Gove told businesses recently that there will be checks at the border and customs declarations at Dover and Calais.
鈥淭here might be tariffs, depending on what deal is struck, but we have to plan for trade with the EU as if we were trading with any other nation around the world.
鈥淏usinesses will, therefore, need to have knowledge and proof of origin of its products 鈥 that is going to be critical information.
鈥淢y advice, at this stage, is to seek help now and the chamber is a very good starting point because there is training available on a range of aspects and, further to that, there is also a pot of government money available for training, which, again, the chamber can help businesses to access.鈥
Matthew Davies, partner and head of business immigration at Midlands law firm Wright Hassall, said the Government was taking a hard line with businesses who say they may be short of labour after Brexit 鈥 but that this stance might ease.
He said: 鈥淭he Government appears to be saying to business that they have had long enough to get ready and that they should either invest in automation or pay people more. That鈥檚 quite a tough message.
鈥淵ou can question whether this stance is sustainable and I would suggest that the Government will have to listen.鈥
Mr Davies added: 鈥淥n the whole, the much-heralded new points system for skilled workers isn鈥檛 actually new.
鈥淚t follows broadly the same rules that have applied to non-EEA citizens since 2008/09 and re-works the points-based system we already have.
鈥淭o a certain degree, it actually liberalises the rules because salary thresholds will be lowered, and caps and quotas are being scrapped.鈥
Focus on service sector
Ian McKinney, a senior account executive at Gallagher Insurance, said more focus was needed on the effect Brexit will have on the service sector.
He said: 鈥淭here has been more focus on chlorinated chicken in the national media than there has on what effect this is going to have on the service industry yet a huge proportion of 海角视频 plc is services.
鈥淭herefore, it is vital that we are not forgotten as we strike a deal with the EU.鈥
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David Burton, the chair of the chamber鈥檚 Brexit Hub, said there was still much in the air but that firms should heed the advice of seeking support.
He said: 鈥淭his is the first meeting we have had on Brexit since the deed was done at the end of January and it would appear that the Government values a political solution over the needs of business.
鈥淭here are major concerns still around all aspects of Brexit 鈥 from immigration through to tariffs 鈥 so it鈥檚 vital the companies seek advice and support on how they can prepare now. They cannot afford to leave it any later.鈥
For advice on Brexit or to find out more about grant funding available, call the chamber on 024 7665 4321.
