BREXIT, cyber attacks and a potential lack of qualified staff within children’s services could be threats to the new Dorset Council.

A report to councillors says that if the UK leaves Europe without a suitable deal it could become more difficult to attract staff to work with the county’s elderly.

The report also says that Brexit poses a potential threat to local business.

Other threats include the international price and demand for recycled material – some of which used to be exported to China until it raised its standards and now imports less waste. There is also a warning about the vulnerability of the council’s computer systems to cyber attacks.

An annual governance report, which has been prepared for the county council, says its findings will be passed on as advice to the new authority which starts work on April 1st,.

The report highlights that more work is also needed on assessing performance and costs to ensure value for money and says there could be a high risk of a gap between the amount of available resources and demand for statutory services.

In social care failure to find enough suitable foster carers or placements is assessed as being a high risk, although a recent recruitment campaign has had partial success in finding 51 of the estimated 70 new foster carers the service needs.

The risk of not being able to find additional savings is also listed as high, as is the failure to keep school budgets in balance. This is said to be worsening.

The report, which was before the county council’s audit and governance committee on Monday, will now be considered by the shadow executive on March 18th.