Exiting the European Union inquiry
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“Departments across Whitehall will all be responsible for delivering elements of the UK’s exit from the European Union. So far this Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee has questioned representatives from HMRC, the Home Office, UK Border Force, and the Department for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs about their preparedness for Brexit. Building on a report from the National Audit Office, the Committee will take evidence from HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office, and the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) about how they are monitoring and funding Brexit-related projects. These departments have a central role in coordinating government’s overall approach to Brexit, and ensuring that, whatever the outcome of negotiations between the UK and EU Commission, the functions of government are delivered effectively. We will ask HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and DExEU how they are ensuring effective cooperation between departments, how they are allocating extra funds provided for Brexit projects, and how they are assessing what further new work could be needed during the exit process and how it should be carried out.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
Government departments have to face up to some hard choices as they handle Brexit.
Departments already have a lot to deliver besides Brexit and need to prioritise, including stopping some projects to make room for essential Brexit work–which is at least 313 areas of work. It is critical that the civil service has the right people, skills and resources to manage exiting the European Union (EU). Yet allocation processes have been too slow; the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) and the Cabinet Office do not have a robust enough plan to identify and recruit the people and skills needed quickly. DExEU must pick up the pace of this work and move other departments on to getting things done. Given these challenges we expect much greater transparency from DExEU, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office on formally setting out who is responsible for what and on the progress that is being made. We also need to know what the costs are of delivering Brexit and expect Government to be open about this.
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 3 November 2017 to 20 November 2018.
- Oral evidence 11 Dec 2017
- Report 7 Feb 2018
- Correspondence 2 letters
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 18th Report - Exiting the European Union ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 11 Dec 2017No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗