Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in his Department who were transferred or seconded to work (a) in other departments or (b) on other departmental briefs on preparations for the UK to leave the EU, have since returned to his Department.

Following the extension to Article 50, 82 members of staff who had been working on preparations for the UK leaving the European Union at other government departments have now returned to the Department for Education.

The department constantly reviews its capabilities and allocation of resources in order to effectively deliver the government’s agenda. Internal transfers and loans are agreed locally, so the department does not hold this information centrally.

The Civil Service is focused on delivering the government’s most pressing priorities, so it is only sensible that we make use of the resources and expertise that are available. This includes departments sharing staff and working together on joint projects.