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SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH BREXIT
SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH BREXIT
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SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH BREXIT
NEWGATE’S BREXIT AUDIT AND ADVOCACY PROGRAMME
As your business or organisation assesses the implications of the Brexit result, you will no doubt be preparing for the many challenges
and opportunities that lie ahead.
With the prospect of some economic uncertainty which will have consequences for investor and consumer confidence, organisations need to be prepared for significant political and regulatory change.
Organisations that give consideration to the potential impacts of Brexit will be on the front foot when it comes to influencing Government policy on changes to laws and regulations that might have detrimental outcomes.
Reaching an informed understanding of the regulatory consequences of Brexit on your business will equip your organisation with the knowledge to navigate effectively.
Newgate Communications offers its clients integrated communications support, providing specialists in individual disciplines – financial and corporate communications, public affairs and investor relations –working seamlessly together as one team to provide advocacy, build and defend corporate reputations and demonstrate leadership.
Our comprehensive ‘Brexit Audit and Advocacy Programme’ helps businesses understand and navigate the political and regulatory changes that lie ahead, minimising the cost, whilst maximising the opportunities.
Newgate’s team of experienced consultants will conduct a comprehensive analysis of your business’s exposure to EU regulation, policies and funding streams.
Our Brexit Audit service can:
• Help the management team understand how Brexit might affect the business
• Identify potential costs and benefits to your business
• Strategically position the organisation’s response to Brexit, including engaging with and influencing UK Government and opinion formers
• Complement and challenge internal Brexit assessments and mitigation
strategies
Our Brexit Audit will inform a defined programme of public affairs activity to mitigate the impact of Brexit on your business, and shape the future policy direction of the UK Government.
What are the consequences of Brexit and how will it impact my
business?
How can I reassure
customers, investors,
supply chains and staff?
Who should I be talking to in
Government and what should I be saying?
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ACTION Review exposure to EU law
OBJECTIVE Identify preferred future regulatory regimes and manage risks and uncertainties associated with regulatory change
ACTION Review reliance on EU funding programmes
OBJECTIVE Identify future sources of funding and shape successor funding programmes
ACTION Engage with trade associations and identify relevant industry-wide groups
OBJECTIVE Establish common cause with like-minded organisations to influence UK Government
ACTION Review risks and uncertainties associated with potential changes to tariff and non-tariff barriers to EU market
OBJECTIVE Establish how future trading relations will be affected, and which alternative markets should be explored
ACTION Review Intellectual Property (IP) law and how Brexit might impact that
OBJECTIVE Identify the impact of Brexit on companies using the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
ACTION Engage with Government Ministers and policy makers
OBJECTIVE Inform the Government’s negotiating strategy and protect your company’s best interests
ACTION Review workforce
OBJECTIVE Assess exposure to future restrictions on rights of free movement
ACTION Review commercial contracts
OBJECTIVE Identify opportunities to renegotiate contracts
‘BREXIT PROOFING’ YOUR BUSINESSWhat does our Brexit Audit look like?
LEGAL FUNDING
COALITION BUILDINGHR
TRADE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
POLITICALCOMMERCIAL
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It is important that businesses ensure their voices are heard during the months ahead as the post-Brexit world takes shape. Many businesses, particularly smaller businesses, prefer to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach. But with Brexit, this approach is unlikely to serve them well. It is important that businesses do not leave it to the Government to decide what their sector or industry needs or wants. Unless businesses advocate for themselves, no-one else will. It is essential that all businesses across the UK, regardless of size, take a proactive approach to public affairs to ensure that their needs are being heard by those who will be negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union. As the UK Government embarks on its negotiated withdrawal from the EU, there is no shortage of opportunities to shape and influence the Government’s position.
EU Summit (29 April 2017)A month after the UK has triggered Article 50, EU leaders will meet to agree the guidelines for the EU’s negotiating team headed by Michel Barnier. European Council President Donald Tusk has said the priority is to provide “clarity” to EU residents, business and member states about the talks ahead. Approval of these negotiating guidelines may be delayed until after the French Presidential Elections.
Summit of EU and EU 27 to agree process of negotiations (June 2017)EU leaders will meet in June to determine the i) frequency of negotiating rounds, and ii) the sequence of negotiations (i.e. whether divorce proceedings, trade status and transitional deal negotiations place in parallel or separately).
Possible Early General Election (Autumn 2017)The next UK general election is due in 2020. Theresa May has consistently ruled out an early general election but a snap poll cannot be ruled out entirely. The detailed work of formulating party manifestos and policy platforms presents a further opportunity for businesses and organisations to engage with political leaders and to inform their policy positions.
Continuation of work towards the UK’s formal exit (2018)New domestic regimes will need to be established in areas where regulation and licensing is currently done at an EU level. Leaked Whitehall documents suggest that at least seven new bills will be required in key areas affected by Brexit. Legislation will need to be prepared to cover areas as diverse as tax, immigration and agriculture. Another six bills may also need to be passed to cover new arrangements for the UK’s future , providing further opportunities for MPs and peers to shape the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU.
UK Leaves the EU (2019)The expectation is that by the end of March 2019, the UK will have ceased to be a member of the EU. The precise terms of the UK’s Brexit withdrawal will finally become clear. The Article 50 negotiations could be extended, but this is subject to the approval of the other 27 EU member states.
Article 50 Negotiations (March 2017)On Wednesday 29 March the Prime Minister, Theresa May, wrote to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, to inform him that following a referendum on 23 June last year the United Kingdom wishes to leave the European Union under the terms of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The formal departure will take place exactly 24 months following receipt of the letter. Between those two points the UK Government and the European Union will need to agree on the terms of a new trade relationship.
Great Repeal Bill (March 2017)The Prime Minister will publicash her plans for a “Great Repeal Bill”, in the form of a White Paper. The aim of the legislation will be to end the authority of EU law by converting all its provisions into British law on the day of exit from the bloc. At the same time, the 1972 European Communities Act giving direct effect to all EU law will be repealed. Initially, all EU laws will be transposed into British law. There will then be an opportunity to scrutinize, amend, repeal or improve any aspect of EU law. There will almost certainly be a huge number of requests for changes from MPs, peers and third parties determined to get rid of, or improve EU regulations. The Government has indicated that it will consult widely with business and third parties to help inform which regulations should be protected and which should be repealed.
‘BREXIT PROOFING’ YOUR BUSINESS OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM
Gavin started off as a senior official in the House of Commons, and his specialism during his more than a decade working in communications is in working with clients whose activities are affected by, or under threat, from the political and regulatory world.
Since leaving Parliament he has helped big infrastructure projects like Crossrail, HS2 and Hinkley Point move forward, smoothed the way for investment in the UK by the likes of Huawei and Kraft Foods, and supported bids by Siemens for major public sector contracts. He’s also served as a a PRCA boardmember, Deputy Chair of the APPC, as well as completing an MBA.
Simon has spent more than a quarter of a century in public affairs, in consultancies and in-house, in Brussels as well as London. He has a particular focus on regulated industries, and has helped many clients shape the regulatory landscape in several policy areas.
His in-house roles have included stints at SmithKline Beecham, later GSK, and the insurance trade body, the ABI. As a consultant his clients have encompassed leading names from the worlds of health, financial services and technology, such as Microsoft, Visa, Abbott Laboratories, Three, AstraZeneca, StubHub/Ebay and the ATM Industry Association.
For more than a decade, Gareth has provided public affairs advice and support to a wide range of clients, helping them to engage with audiences in Westminster and Whitehall and supporting them on a range of public policy, legislative and regulatory issues.
Gareth has extensive experience of sectors including financial services, support services and energy, and is expert in the complex political and regulatory environments of those industries. His clients have included Lloyds Banking Group, Investec, Capital One, UK Onshore Oil and Gas, TalkTalk and G4S.
Tomos brings to Newgate unique insight into the way Government works, having been both a civil servant and a Special Adviser to two Cabinet Ministers.
He began his working life as a politics lecturer, becoming an expert on devolution and the Conservative Party. Tomos then worked for the Welsh Government before being seconded to Whitehall, where he became Special Adviser to two Secretaries of State. He steered major constitutional legislation through Parliament, delivered the largest city growth deal in the UK, and supported the Government’s response to the steel crisis. His policy interests include energy, infrastructure and higher education.
Siân has served as a special adviser and speechwriter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, when he was at the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Defence. During this time, she worked on high-profile political issues including HS2, rail investment strategy, the restructuring of the Army and the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Before working in Government, she served as Mr Hammond’s chief adviser in Opposition, helping to shape the Conservative approach to public spending and supporting the development of the 2010 election manifesto. This followed two years as the party’s lead policy researcher on work and welfare.
Siân’s earlier career includes five years as a financial services strategy consultant and a spell as a business journalist in Cardiff. She holds a Modern Languages degree from Cambridge University.
GAVIN DEVINE, CHIEF [email protected]
SIMON GENTRY, [email protected]
GARETH JONES, ASSOCIATE [email protected]
TOMOS DAVIES, ASSOCIATE [email protected]
SIÂN JONES, ASSOCIATE PARTNERSiâ[email protected]
OPPORTUNITIES TO INFLUENCE THE GOVERNMENT
If you would like to discuss our Brexit Audit service, or explore the range of other services that Newgate has to offer, please don’t hesitate to contact Newgate’s Public Affairs team.
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