LEADERS in Swansea and Carmarthenshire believe the two councils are as prepared as they can be if the UK and EU cannot agree a trade deal.

Local authorities have been planning for all outcomes – and in Carmarthenshire this includes ensuring schools have a sufficient supply of food.

The UK is due to stop following EU trading rules on December 31. Arguments over fishing rights, state aid for businesses and how any new deal would be governed continue to be problematic.

The deadlock is causing increasing unease among businesses, with talks between the two parties due to conclude on Sunday.

If a deal cannot be agreed, border checks and tariffs will be introduced for goods travelling between the UK and the EU as part of World Trade Organisation terms.

Asked what Carmarthenshire Council has been doing to prepare for a no-deal, leader Emlyn Dole said officers were working hard to update the authority’s position daily.

He said: “It has been challenging to plan with a constantly evolving picture, but we’re confident that we’re as prepared as we can be for all eventualities.”

Cllr Dole added: “This includes contingency planning for risks in relation to food supplies, so that we can be sure we have sufficient supply for our schools and care homes, for example.

“We have been supporting local businesses to prepare for Brexit and continue to plan our support for any businesses adversely impacted.

“We will do everything we can to protect and grow Carmarthenshire’s economy regardless of the outcome.”

Asked for his personal view on the possibility of a no-deal, the Carmarthenshire Plaid Cymru leader said: “Crashing out of the single market and customs union will be nothing short of catastrophic for us.

“The obvious point is our higher level of dependence on EU trade as compared with other parts of the UK.”

Cllr Dole said the coronavirus pandemic had accentuated the “vulnerability” of Wales’s economy, with unemployment rate predictions this winter touching 10%.

He said Carmarthenshire’s agricultural sector and wider rural economy faced dire consequences in the event of a no-deal.

“What would inevitably follow would be a reliance on overseas products produced to lower standards while Carmarthenshire farmers would struggle for survival,” he said.

A no-deal, he said, had to be avoided.

“We needed none of this, having had enough time to have sorted this all out sooner as promised,” he said.

Cllr Dole said “there will have to be accountability” if an agreement was not reached “as a result of political choices and not economic inevitability”.

The Welsh Local Government Association said it was supporting Wales’s 22 councils to prepare for the end of the transition period and the possibility of a no-deal scenario.

A spokesman said: “Each local authority’s circumstances will vary, but they have all undertaken rigorous work to assess any impacts in their local areas and continue to keep a close eye on developments.”

In Carmarthenshire, 53.7% of people who voted in the 2016 referendum wanted to leave the EU, while 46.3% voted to remain.

The corresponding figures in Swansea were 52% and 48%.

The hit to the Welsh economy of a no-deal could be around £3.5 billion, according to analysis by accountants Grant Thornton, with machinery and transport equipment the hardest hit sector.

That compares to a £1 billion impact even if there is a deal.

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart said: “While we have extensively planned for the implications of a no-deal Brexit, this should be avoided at all costs.”

Cllr Stewart said business could not take the economic hit of a no-deal on top of the coronavirus disruption.

“It’s a perfect storm and we can avoid massive damage to our economy by striking a deal,” said the city’s Labour leader.

The Welsh Affairs Committee has warned that Wales was far from ready for the end of the transition period on December 31.

It was concerned that the ports of Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke wouldn’t have appropriate facilities ready for the full implementation of new customs processes and checks from January 1.

But these checks would be needed regardless of whether a deal is reached with the EU or not.

“We are particularly concerned about the implications of this for Holyhead, one of the UK’s busiest ports for trade with the EU,” said committee chairman and MP for Preseli, Pembrokeshire, Stephen Crabb.

Boris Johnson has said firms and the public should prepare for a no-deal outcome, but there was still time for an agreement to be made.