A NO-DEAL Brexit could lead to medicine shortages and disruption to the supply of school and hospital meals, according to Welsh Government preparation documents published on Wednesday.

In Preparing for a no-deal Brexit, the Welsh Government laid out its plans to mitigate these potential impacts.

"Until we know for certain that an extension has been agreed and accepted, the risk of a no deal exit by October 31 remains a very real prospect," the document read.

The Senedd's preparations for a no-deal situation include several potential impacts the document called "significant and far-reaching".

The Welsh Government document said that:

  • Reassurances had been sought – and received – from major supermarkets about food supplies, particularly to remote areas of Wales.
  • Advice was being given to schools and hospitals in the event of food supply problems. This included revising and adapting menus to overcome ingredient shortages or inflationary price increases.
  • Additional storage capacity for medicines had been arranged, with a 12-to-15-week supply of products.
  • Supermarkets had given reassurances about the stock levels of non-food items such as toiletries and sanitary products.

“We hope that we won’t need to take the steps set out in this plan, but make no mistake, a no deal Brexit will damage Wales," Brexit minister Jeremy Miles AM said. "The UK government’s own planning assumptions, revealed last week, predict rising fuel prices, shortages of some foods, protests and delays at ports, and those on low incomes being disproportionately affected – this is not project fear but project fact."

Paul Davies AM, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, downplayed the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit, saying: "The prime minister has made it clear that his priority is to leave the European Union with an agreement, but it’s important that all governments tell us what they are doing to prepare for a worst-case scenario of leaving the EU without a deal.”