Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department are working on his Department’s plans for the UK to leave the EU.

Through Treasury EU Exit funding and a process of internal reprioritisation, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has created approximately 550 EU Exit roles in the UK and overseas. We have used these roles to strengthen our diplomatic network in the UK and across Europe so that we are better able to represent and promote British interests and engage with our European partners in support of a successful EU Exit. In addition, we have a number of other staff working on a range of EU Exit planning issues as part of their wider responsibilities.