LANCASHIRE County Council's Labour Group has warned the government that a 'no deal' Brexit would damage local authorities.

It's economic development spokeswoman Cllr Julie Gibson has prepared a submission outlining its concerns.

Cllr Gibson said: “With six months to go we are worried that the concerns of local government in relation to Brexit are being forgotten.

"Local councils will be the ones left to deal with the consequence of a 'no deal' Brexit.

"We have outlined to government some assurances we would like to see.

“Many council services are provided by staff from across the EU. Our schools, health service and many regeneration programmes are dependent on their labour. We need assurances from government that our services won’t suffer if we lose these vital staff.

“Local authority trading standards and environmental health teams have access to many EU databases to help with their enforcement work. There is a real concern that reduced access or no access to these in the event of a 'no deal’ Brexit could impact on the enforcement work that is carried out."

The submission is being sent to government ministers through the Local Government Association,