UNITED KINGDOM
Senior UK Public Servants have warned that the next Government will find it hard to encourage Government workers to prepare for a possible no-deal exit from the European Union (Brexit) after ‘crying wolf’ three times.
As the latest Brexit deadline of 31 October passed without taking effect, senior officials warned of ‘Brexit fatigue’, saying there was a limit to how often the UK could prepare for a no-deal departure.
This year, the Public Service has been told to mobilise for Britain leaving the EU without an agreement on 29 March, 12 April and 31 October.
With a General Election scheduled for 12 December, there is a risk of a no-deal departure on 31 January if Parliament fails to ratify a Brexit deal or if the next Government has not requested another extension to EU membership.
During the summer, thousands of PS employees were moved out of their regular jobs into no-deal contingency planning units under the Government’s Operation Yellowhammer.
They have now been stood down again.
It is believed the costs to the taxpayer of planning for the 31 October departure date that never materialised was around £100 million (A$187 million).
Total spending on Brexit planning is now more than £6 billion (A$11.2 billion).
Former head of the Foreign Office, Peter Ricketts said the missed 31 October deadline deserved to trigger some reflection from politicians and the wider public.
“This is a time to reflect on the hundreds of millions of pounds wasted on no-deal preparations, all the Civil Service time and effort that could have gone into improving peoples’ lives, the humiliation of asking Brussels for yet another extension — all for what?” Mr Ricketts said.
London, 2 November 2019
