Is Sheffield ready for Brexit?

During public questions at a recent full council meeting, Neil Schofield, EU campaigner, asked how prepared Sheffield City Council was for various outcomes following Brexit.

He said: “What effect would Brexit have on community safety and what is the council doing to mitigate this?”

Councillor Jim Steinke, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and community safety, said there was a number of potential outcomes and they had been in discussion with South Yorkshire Police about how to react.

He said: “We are having discussions with the police and other bodies about proportionate reactions to what may happen. It’s recognising that there is a potential threat of disorder in any case. The referendum saw an immediate spike in hate crime so we need to know for sure that whatever happens we don’t exacerbate things.”

Coun Julie Dore, leader, added: “We did an assessment and there will be little to no short term disruption to our services. We also assess any new information on a weekly basis.