Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 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.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) keeps its staff numbers under regular review in response to Ministerial priorities. Furthermore, the FCO works closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and other Government Departments to prepare for EU Exit. Staff within the FCO's Europe Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. However, staff across the Department leading on other issues also provide advice and analysis as required. It is therefore not possible to give an accurate figure for the number of officials working on issues related to the UK leaving the EU, given the interactions between EU Exit work and the FCO's other priorities.