The LGA has voiced worries that councils will likely lose qualified and experienced staff to national regulators (such as the health and safety executive for example). The concerns were expressed in the LGA's response to the NAO's report "Regulating After EU Exit" where the NAO referenced workload capacity and consequent recruitment issues for UK national regulators taking over functions previously carried out at EU level.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, commenting on the report said "EU exit has had a major impact on many UK regulators. They need to overcome many challenges ..... including recruiting the right specialist skills."

In response, The LGA's Cllr Nesil Caliskan (chair of LGA's safer stronger communities board) has said the report "mirrors the warnings the LGA has made during the pandemic and since about the lack of professional capacity to draw on in key professions such as environmental health and trading standards .... there is an increased risk that councils' regulatory services, which are already stretched, will be damaged further as the local professional workforce is recruited in to national roles." and called on the Government to ensure resources and support were given so that the next generation of officers could be trained and recruited to sustain local government's regulatory duties.

The question for the private rented sector is - if the LGA's worries come to pass, how will that affect private rented sector property inspections and enforcement if councils lose more qualified and experienced EHOs, effectively, to poaching strategies by a national regulator?