Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding his Department has set aside for contingencies relating to the UK leaving the EU in the (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19 financial years.

Like all departments, the Department for Work and Pensions is planning for a number of EU Exit scenarios. Over £250m of additional funding has been approved across a number of departments in 2017/18 to prepare for Brexit. We have reprioritised during this financial year as necessary, whilst the costs of EU Exit in 2018-19 will be affected by negotiations over the coming months.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed that the government will guarantee European Union funding for all structural and investment fund projects signed before the Autumn Statement 2016, and those signed after that date but before we leave the European Union so long as they are good value for money and in line with domestic strategic priorities, even when these projects continue after we have left.