Taxpayers hit with £4.4bn bill for Brexit
Auditors reveal the figures and say up to 22,000 staff worked on preparations
THE NATION’S exit from the European Union has cost the UK’s taxpayers more than £4bn in additional government costs with 22,000 staff working on preparations at its peak, according to a report released today.
The National Audit Office (NAO) found that between the EU referendum in June 2016 and March 31 this year, Government departments will have spent at least £4.4bn, while £6.3bn was allocated by the Treasury for Brexit preparations.
That included planning for both deal and no deal scenarios, with £2bn specifically earmarked for no deal preparations in 201920 – although this was scaled back after the prospects of leaving without a deal receded.
Overall, the NAO said the figures represented a “minimum estimated level of spend” due to “limitations” in the data provided by departments.
Of the money spent, £1.9bn went on staffing costs, £1.5bn on building new systems and infrastructure, and £288m on bringing in expertise and external advice. At the peak of activity in October 2019, there were 22,000 staff working on Brexit preparations, including 1,500 employees who had been moved within government to prepare for a possible no deal exit.
The head of the NAO, Gareth Davies, said: “In preparing for EU exit, Government departments planned for multiple potential outcomes, with shifting timetables and uncertainty. Producing this report has highlighted limitations in how government monitored spending on EU exit specifically, and cross-government programmes more generally.”
The chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier, added: “At least £4.4bn
was spent, and 22,000 staff worked on EU Exit preparations.
“The number of senior civil servants is now nine per cent higher than in 2010, with 12 per cent of all senior civil servants working on EU Exit roles.
“The public has been kept in the dark as to what the Government
has been doing. Data is limited, and the Treasury seem unconcerned by the lack of transparency.”
The NAO report found that although much funding was allocated specifically from the Treasury, some departments had to find cash totally £301m from their existing budgets.
The department which spent the most was the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), where the bill topped £871m, for work including controlling animal and plant product imports and agriculture policies.
The Department for Education spent the least, at just £12m, on guaranteeing the Erasmus scheme for students studying abroad and student finance for EU nationals.
The report comes as Ministers hailed as “landmark legislation” the Immigration Bill that ends post-Brexit free movement of labour and the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned there were “very serious divergences” with the UK following the first round of negotiations on a postBrexit trade deal.
The Bill, put before Parliament yesterday, is intended to pave the way for the foundation of a pointsbased immigration system.
Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster said: “Today we’ve taken the momentous first step to end free movement and take back control of our borders, delivering on the people’s priorities.
“Our firmer and fairer pointsbased immigration system will attract the brightest and best from around the globe, prioritising those who come to Britain based on the skills they have to offer, not on the passport they hold.”
Mr Foster said that if the Bill was passed, it will ensure a points-based immigration system from January 1, 2021.
‘Difficult’ EU talks: Page 4.