With the Government pledging that the UK will leave the European Union on October 31, planning for Brexit has been stepped up.

In Cornwall businesses have been offered support from a number of organisations to ensure that they are prepared for Brexit.

One of those is Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to chief executive Kim Conchie on how it is helping businesses and what impact Brexit could have on Cornwall.

Mr Conchie said:  “We can’t pretend that it is not a very challenging time, but there is still a lot of uncertainty. The director general of the British Chamber of Commerce had a meeting with Michael Gove last week, Mr Gove thinks very highly of the Chamber of Commerce. He was trying to get some clarity, but even someone that close to the throne can’t get any sort of clarity. Nationally it is still a bit of a muddle really.

“In Cornwall there are several groups that will be affected. 9% of our VAT registered businesses export – that is exporting products, not services. They are very concerned about the markets themselves and exchange rates and what that could mean for their business.

“A slightly larger group of our businesses import components from the EU and they are a bit mystified about how much they might be affected. Several of them are stockpiling.”

Mr Conchie highlighted one business – Hydrok – based in Indian Queens which imports sheet metal from Spain for use in civil engineering work.

He said that they had had to rent a field next to their plant to store more sheet metal as they were concerned that imports could be affected by Brexit.

That was done in preparation for the previous planned date for Brexit in March and the company was still having to make sure it is prepared for October 31.

Mr Conchie said: “They didn’t know if their supply was going to be interrupted so they had to make sure they had enough to carry on. That meant there was the extra cost of the field and the effect on their cashflow in having to stockpile sheet metal.”

Other sectors in Cornwall have found that they have not been affected in the way that might have been expected.

Tourism has possibly been helped due to the exchange rate which is better for European visitors coming to Cornwall.

Kim said: “There was a concern that the message of Brexit might have upset tourists coming here from Europe, but the evidence is that Dutch, Germans, Belgians and Austrians are still coming here in large numbers.

“And they can perhaps afford to spend more when they are here thanks to the exchange rate.”

Mr Conchie said that other industries in Cornwall said they did not expect to see any impact from Brexit at all – he said these were those working in digital services ranging from video game developers to international consultants.

He said: “They don’t think their business will be affected at all. There is a point around exchange rates but there should be in interruptions in trading.”

He added: “It all varies from group to group – digital, tourism, creative businesses and manufacturing are all important components of the Cornish economy.

“All in all people appear to be just getting on with it. When I had my own business I would say ‘don’t lie awake at night worrying about things you can’t influence’ and Brexit comes into that.”

Mr Conchie said that the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce had produced a preparedness for Brexit document which had been shared with members and said it has also been working with Cornwall Council to ensure people can access information and advice easily.

He said: “That is helpful – it is important that we are all saying one thing and helping businesses where we can. We have our differences in opinion on some things, but on big issues like this it is important we work together.”

The chamber boss said that it was important to ensure that businesses are confident and that they can feel that confidence from others.

But he did admit that this can be difficult when there are clear negatives which could result from Brexit.

“There are unprecedented pitfalls but the problem is we don’t know what those pitfalls are. In my darker moments I do have a worry that we will be cutting ourselves off.”

Mr Conchie said there were still big concerns about what Brexit might mean for farmers and the fishing industry and said that with a majority of fish landed in Cornwall being exported to EU countries there could be issues with maintaining that.

Asked whether the government was doing enough to help businesses, he said: “Because it is so difficult and unprecedented I can’t see what more they can be doing. I do feel that they are trying to make sure that businesses don’t feel too exposed but the best thing they can do now is to say this is the route, we are all going in this direction and this is how it will affect you.

“Business people assume that politicians know some stuff that we don’t and want them to take the lead, but it turns out that they know less than the businesses do.

“Businesses need to step up to the plate, make their mark and ensure their voices are heard. I do have some confidence that business people and the markets they deal in will find a way through most of these problems. Business owners, and humans, are far more resilient than we give them credit for. But they do need to step up and be more demanding.”