(Bloomberg) -- Three major UK regulators are struggling with recruitment, data gaps, and long-term planning in the aftermath of Brexit, according to a report by the National Audit Office.

The Competition and Markets Authority, Health and Safety Executive and Food Standards Agency have all taken on significant new responsibilities as a result of the UK’s departure from the European Union. While all three regulators received additional funding and have boosted staffing they are “finding it a challenge to recruit the specialist skills they need in some key areas,” the report said.

CMA, which has long toiled against the private sector to recruit and retain staff with legal, economic and digital skills for its competition and mergers work, had a vacancy rate of 25% for legal roles in March 2022. Both the FSA and HSE are struggling with a shortage of toxicologists.

There is a risk that capacity constraints could delay regulatory decisions, the report said. The organizations’ ability to assess risks has also been impeded by the loss of access to data- and information-sharing arrangements with EU regulators.

The report, which also said the pandemic and Brexit had made long-term planning harder, examined: 

  • the HSE’s role in chemicals regulation;
  • the FSA’s role in regulating food safety and standards;
  • CMA’s roles, including enforcing competition and consumer protection law.

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