With just 30 days left until the end of the Brexit transition period, UUP Leader Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:
“We`re just 30 days away from Northern Ireland businesses being unceremoniously dumped into a bureaucratic nightmare, facing the huge twin challenges of implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol and having to jump through the logistical hoops of a border in the Irish Sea.
“I appreciate it that it`s only Jenny Pyper`s first day in her new job as interim Head of the Civil Service, but given the EU`s lack of response to the First and deputy First Minister`s letter asking for clarity on the security of Northern Ireland`s food supply, I hope that a lot of her focus will now be placed on preparations for the fallout.
“We have already placed enormous responsibilities on the shoulders of civil servants over the past number of years as Northern Ireland was left politically rudderless while other nations within the UK were preparing for Brexit and Ms Pyper and her team will have a huge task ahead of them as we are still largely in the dark about what the full implications will be. As a matter of urgency the First and deputy First Minister need to outline what Brexit priorities they have given to the Interim Head of the Civil Service so that she can put the appropriate contingencies and mitigations in place.”