Javea Grapevine 188 2016 Seven | Page 72

Mayor Chulvi opened the event with an update about what the town and Valencia are doing to ensure as smooth a transition as possible for residents. He emphasised the relationship the Town has with all the expatriate population and the contribution made by all residents to the community. He was working with Valencia in giving Madrid and the British Consulate as much info as possible about the numbers of British citizens here who could be affected by the Brexit decision. The British Consul, Sarah-Jane Morris spoke at length about the uncertainties and unknowns of the BREXIT decision, stressing the need for everyone who can to register themselves on the Padron. Cllr Doris Courcelles confirmed that the Padron information was not shared with the Hacienda and had no bearing on taxes - it does have relevance to the provision of public funding provided to the Council for public works and was a confirmation to both Spain and the UK governments, as to how many citizens were going to be affected by the negotiations. The general message was that both the UK government and the Spanish were acutely aware of the need to protect their citizens who lived abroad. There were three main projected scenarios and Martyn Standing, Jonathan Lambert and Jaime Sendra Galan did their best to field answers to questions from the audience. A table of their considered likely outcomes follows on page 74. For up to date information on the way Brexit will affect Britons who live and work abroad, go to the Consulate website, or their Facebook page - Full article here