Ministers given right to spend on preparations

Ministers are to be allowed to spend money on preparations for Brexit without waiting for parliamentary approval, it has been announced.

The move comes after the surprise revelation by Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond on Wednesday that £250 million had been given to four Whitehall departments from Treasury reserves to spend on Brexit, with details to be spelt out in next month’s Budget.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said that a procedure known as a “technical direction” was being used to ensure that essential preparations were not delayed by the normal requirement for all spending to be authorised by legislation, as set out in a Treasury rulebook called Managing Public Money.