A SENIOR Bank of England official says he is impressed by the community spirit he has found in Bradford as he helps prepare the country for Brexit.

Alex Brazier is a member of the bank’s Financial Policy Committee and leads the team identifying and tackling the financial risks in the UK economy.

He was in Bradford as part of the organisation’s frequent trips to test the water in different parts of the country and find out the issues that the public are most concerned about, hosted a community forum with the Bradford Faith Centre and Christians Against Poverty.

He said: “Both places are great illustrations of that here in Bradford there’s a great community spirit and people willing to pull together with a real sense of purpose to help other people and it’s inspirational to find it.

“When I was at the faith centre someone described it to me as their angel there at their hour of need. It will stay with me for some time.

“And in a way it’s difficult to hear these stories but at the same time it’s inspirational to hear about the work people are doing on the ground to help others.”

The Bradford Faith Centre helps refugee families from all backgrounds who have settled in Bradford and the Bradford headquarters of Christians Against Poverty is one of the UK’s largest providers of support for those facing severe debt problems.

Mr Brazier added: “We’re really good at engaging with businesses but we feel we’ve been only getting a partial picture.

“We work for everyone so we have tried to connect with a broader range of people round the country.

“We do that to get a complete picture by hearing their stories and we’re accountable to them as much as the local business community.

“If you have a boom followed by a bust it’s most often the most vulnerable in society that feel it most acutely.”

Of his visit to CAP he said: “It’s interesting to talk to people who work there and live and work in Bradford. I heard some incredibly inspirational stories there about the work that they do and because they are a national charity what they do has real national resonance.

“You can get a feel for trends in indebtedness, trends in people who are trouble paying debt and why and those are very important things for us to be aware of because we manage Britain’s financial system.

“At the faith centre I heard stories from people who are sometimes at their darkest hour. It’s important that people like me hear that as much as I hear the local business person’s story.

“The common theme is that sometimes people can find themselves in difficulty through no fault of their own through some sudden event and people like the faith centre and CAP provide help.

“Increasingly our agents across the country and are building up a more complete picture of what’s happening on their patch.

“For two and bit years now we have spent our time preparing the financial system in Britain for Brexit whatever form it takes.

“We have spent that time making sure the banks are safe whatever happens in the economy. And we are now in a position to say anyone who does use a financial service provided by the EU can be confident that can continue. They won’t see the rug pulled from underneath them.

“What it means is that whatever people want to worry about when it comes to Brexit, they don’t have to worry about the financial system. Our judgment is that the banking system in particular is well place to deal with a wide range of economic shocks.

“The economy is becoming increasingly prepared for a no deal Brexit. We’ve seen how businesses in Bradford and across the country have begun to take the necessary steps to trade with the EU when we are no longer a member.

“Each of them has their own bespoke challenge.”

Mr Brazier said it was not his first time in Bradford but he had been to parts of the city he had not seen before and had had an interesting day.

He added: “I’ve seen the redevelopment in the city centre and also seen some people in Bradford with a real sense of community doing some incredible work. I will catch the train back to London knowing a lot more than I did than when I got on the train this morning about what’s going on in the local area and about the important work that’s being done.”

“I shall catch the train somewhat heartened by the fact that there is this real sense of community and people doing incredible things.

“It’s really important that we go to places all around the UK and as Bank of England policy makers we got to all sorts of places.”

He was accompanied by Juliette Healey, the bank’s agent for Yorkshire and The Humber, who said: “That’s the great thing about Yorkshire.

“Actually it’s a good barometer for the whole of the UK. You’ve got a mix of industries across all types, you’ve got rural, you’ve got cities, you’ve got coastal.

“You have every sector of the economy represented so it’s a great bit of the country.

“It also represents the changing UK so moving away from legacy industries, innovating, new industries. You’ve renewables, you’ve got all sorts of exciting things going on in Yorkshire.”