Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants or other public employees they anticipate will need to be recruited in (1) 2016–17, and (2) 2017–18, in connection with the UK's negotiations to leave the EU, and what they expect the total cost of employing them to be in each of those years.

All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has just over 300 staff, and is growing fast. We are not in a position to give a final total as recruitment is ongoing. Overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed and we will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.