Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the additional staff required by his Department in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.

The Department of International Trade was created as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. Individual roles are not classified according to particular EU Exit scenarios, including leaving without a deal.

Since the department’s establishment in July 2016, DIT has grown from 2,504 to 3,925 at the end of December 2018. These figures includes staff working at UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The DIT workforce is ready to respond to a range of EU Exit scenarios. The numbers of additional staff needed will depend on the nature and timing of those scenarios and on the Government’s policy priorities.

The figures above include all people engaged in DIT and UKEF business activities. This includes employees (including those working overseas), contractors and those on loan from other government departments or seconded from organisations external to the Civil Service.