Business leaders stall on pushing emergency Brexit plans forward

New survey suggests businesses are delaying emergency plans whilst lacking understanding of EU and World Trade Organisation laws affecting them

The Government has so far refused to publish an economic assessment of the impact of EU withdrawal (Reuters)

British businesses are holding off from putting concrete emergency measures in place ahead of Brexit, a new poll reveals.

Although the majority of British businesses have made contingency plans, only 11 per cent have started implementing them, according to a report released by the Institute of Directors (IoD),

The survey of nearly a 1,000 business leaders also reveals firms are seeking greater clarity on what divorce from the European Union will look like.

Despite the current climate of uncertainty, a fifth of business leaders admitted to lacking any understanding on how EU trade laws impacted their sector; 18 per cent of business leaders were said to have no or only limited understanding.

As Britain plans to leave the EU and potentially come under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, the survey conducted by the IoD reveals a stark lack of understanding from businesses on what such a move would actually mean – a combined 32 per cent did not understand WTO rules.

Commenting on the findings, Stephen Martin, director general of the IoD, said that despite uncertainty over the UK’s trading status overshadowing businesses, there is still a “window of opportunity for the Government to convince them to hold off triggering contingency plans”.

He added: “Some changes and costs are inevitable no matter how we leave the EU, but the more information the Government can provide on the process of Brexit, the more companies will be reassured they do not have to jump to relocate staff or operations.”

On Monday, an EU source told Reuters of a plan to put forward a joint proposal for reform of the terms of the UK and EU’s WTO membership in September or October.

Theresa May has so far refused to commit to publishing an economic assessment of the impact of leaving the EU and taking on WTO membership. Speaking earlier in the year, former Brexit minister David Jones confirmed Britain would fall back on WTO trading arrangements should no deal be reached after the two-year negotiating time frame set by Article 50.