Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

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 over 600 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. We regularly review headcount to ensure that we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the negotiations.

The Department is responsible for overseeing EU exit negotiations, as well as establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. As such, all staff in the Department are dedicated to planning or supporting our work on EU exit.