Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department have been seconded away from their normal duties to work on the UK's withdrawal from the EU; and what effect that secondment of staff has had on the effectiveness of his Department.

HM Treasury does not hold information centrally on the work staff undertake while out on loan/secondment.

We estimate that to search and locate any information held would exceed the appropriate limit, therefore can only be answered at a disproportionate cost.

EU Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. The Department for International Trade works to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade.

Departments continually review workforce plans, reprioritise and assess changing needs, which includes identification and cessation of non-priority work where appropriate. We have accelerated our plans, and at the same time, the Civil Service as a whole is working to ensure that EU Exit Implementation is carried out to high quality without impacting public service delivery across the whole of government.