WITH just 36 days until the UK's planned departure of the EU, businesses and Council bosses still face a huge amount of uncertainty of what the impact of Brexit will be, a meeting has been told.

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership Board is made up of representatives of West Yorkshire businesses and Councils, and yesterday met for the final time before the planned October 31 Brexit date.

They heard that will all the turmoil over the issue, including no clear indication of whether the UK will leave the EU with or without a deal, businesses were unclear of how the coming months will play out.

A recent LEP business survey revealed that only 10 per cent of businesses are preparing for Brexit, and 60 per cent are not considering changes to their strategies.

Patrick Bowes from the LEP said: "We've been working with the various Chambers of Commerce in West Yorkshire asking businesses how prepared they are for No Deal Brexit.

"They said there is a paucity of information being provided to them by the government. There is confusion about what types of tariffs they will be using. There is a question of the information being provided not being robust enough."

He said many businesses were looking to stockpile goods in preparation for No Deal, and added: "Very few businesses are looking towards alternative suppliers, it is more a case of hoarding stock. Very few service companies have sat down and fully thought of the business implications."

Henry Rigg added: "We have heard of some businesses moving their R and D (research and development) facilities out to the Republic of Ireland to maintain a link to the EU."

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Tom Riordan from Leeds City Council said: "There are so many unknowns. People are divided into two camps. There are people who don't think No Deal will happen so they are not being driven to change their strategy. Others think it very much could happen so are more actively looking at how they will do business.

"Things are changing by the day in terms of expectations over Brexit, we need to be ready for anything. When people ask me if we're prepared I tell them 'with the information available and the resources we've got we are prepared as we can be.'"

He also raised concerns about the Government's Brexit advice websites, saying they were "not the of the quality we need."

Other issues raised include uncertainty over how businesses access their own data after No Deal, especially if they do know know how or where it is stored.

Mr Rigg added: "We've been asking businesses if they know where their data is stored. Most businesses say they don't."

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council said: "We don't know the full extent of what we're going to have to deal with."

At the same meeting the LEP also agreed to create a £2 million fund to support local businesses preparing for Brexit.

Subject to government approval, the money is being diverted from a budget normally used to help local businesses expand.

It will help provide specific advice for businesses struggling to prepare for Brexit and its aftermath.