Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what training his Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on devolution and inter-governmental relations; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.

The Department for Exiting the European Union has delivered the Devolution and Intergovernmental Working training courses on 11 occasions, to 74 staff since April 2017. A breakdown by grade is not available. These courses form a suite of learning and development opportunities within the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Introduced in 2017 as part of Fast Stream policy learning, Fast Streamers take part in a mandatory Devolution workshop as part of their Induction offer. Fast Streamers are also required to complete the online 'Devolution and Intergovernmental Working' e-learning product as mandatory e-learning within their first year on the Fast Stream programme. All Fast Streamers within the Department for Exiting the European Union are expected to have undertaken both the e-learning and induction workshop.

Civil Service Learning provide a range of central learning opportunities, including online and face-to-face training, for all civil servants on Devolution & Intergovernmental Working.

The online Devolution & Intergovernmental Working module is for all new and existing civil servants, launched in November 2016. Through four online tutorials, video interviews with senior civil servants, and ‘take back to the office’ activities, it explains how the different governments operating in the UK work together, covering devolution settlements, decentralisation, City Deals and intergovernmental relations, as well as the ‘Devolution Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements’.

The half day face-to-face Devolution & Intergovernmental Working workshop is also available to all civil servants. Building on the above online module, delegates learn from experienced professionals who have worked on a range of devolution matters about topics such as confidentiality, when to seek legal advice and the boundaries of devolution, where reserved and devolved powers meet.