Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU to the House of Lords EU Select Committee on 31 October, what estimate they have made of the annual cost of recruiting 8,000 new civil servants to deal with the changes and obligations that they anticipate will arise because of Brexit; which departments will require the new staff; and what specialist roles will be filled.

The whole of Government is preparing for the UK to make an orderly and successful exit from the European Union, and we are equipping ourselves with the right people and the right skills across Government to make this happen. Whilst workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department to determine based on their individual operational and policy requirements, the Civil Service constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government’s commitment to leave the EU and get the very best deal for the UK. Civil Service HR is working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union to support departments, functions and professions in continuing to develop plans to address their emerging capacity and capability requirements.