MIKE Russell has said the supply of all medicines cannot be guaranteed in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The Scottish Government’s Constitutional Relations Secretary has said leaving the European Union without a deal would be “disastrous” and that everything should be done to avoid it.
Russell said arrangements had been in place following discussions with the UK Government to ensure continuity of supplies for the original Brexit date of March 31 but that preparations for the new date in October have not been finalised.
He called for another referendum on the issue of leaving the EU and said people should be voting to remain.
The minister told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme: “A no deal would result in substantial increases in unemployment very quickly, it would result in businesses closing down, it would result in problems with the food chain, it would result in problems with the supply of essential medicines, all those things are really, really difficult and the further you are down the supply routes, and Scotland of course is at the end of many supply routes, the worse it would be.”
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He said the Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to ensure preparations are finalised for October but said it is very difficult to guarantee everything.
Asked whether he could guarantee that all medicines that people in Scotland use will be available after a no deal, he said: “You can’t absolutely guarantee that, no, we made arrangements with the UK Government in March we felt would last for three to six months, which meant that most things were available and there were substitutes.
“One of the biggest jobs undertaken was to find substitutes for things that wouldn’t be available and that was a massive job, it was undertaken by both governments and it was by and large successful, we were confident then.
“That work has still to be finalised because it has changed, for example the availability of warehousing has changed, the drug companies themselves are very, very reluctant to be involved in the deep way they were before, they will in the end I think do so, but all companies involved in stockpiling took big losses in March.”
He added: “That’s one of the reasons a no deal has to be ruled out, it would have been very, very problematic in March, it will be even more problematic in October.”
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Russell, pictured below, said it will be “very difficult if not impossible” to guarantee the continuity of supplies.
He added: “We’ve had 50 years of integrating supply chains, you can’t overturn those or reinvent them overnight.”
Russell’s intervention follows criticisms made by Tory leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt of the Scottish Government’s no-deal preparations, which he made ahead of the contest’s hustings in Perth earlier this month.
The Foreign Secretary told journalists: [The Scottish Government] were ... very disappointing in their preparations for a no-deal Brexit which none of us want, but any responsible government or authority in the United Kingdom should be taking seriously as there is that risk ... All of us throughout the United Kingdom have to do more, but to date as I’ve been watching the no-deal preparations I would like to see more focus on that from Nicola Sturgeon.”
Responding at the time Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said: “Jeremy Hunt’s comments on a no-deal Brexit are gobsmacking ... This is like an arsonist setting a building on fire and then complaining that the firefighters aren’t doing enough to tackle the blaze."
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He added: “The SNP Scottish Government continues with its preparations to protect against the threats from Brexit, but no amount of preparation or funding can completely mitigate all the impacts of leaving the European Union – particularly a catastrophic no-deal Brexit.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Our priority is for all patients to continue to have access to medicines and medical products when we leave the EU.
“We are working with industry and other stakeholders to continue robust no-deal contingency planning for supply after October 31.
“We are confident that if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products should be uninterrupted.”
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Both Hunt and his rival Boris Johnson have said they are prepared to consider a no-deal exit from the EU when the current deadline for departure comes up on October 31. Johnson has made it a key pledge in his campaign promising that the UK will leave the EU on Halloween “do or die”.
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