London — The UK government is working on 313 separate programmes across all departments to prepare the country for Brexit, according to a study on Friday that revealed the extent to which Britain’s divorce from the EU is taking up civil service resources. The programmes, or "work streams", range from designing replacements for EU funding programmes, such as under the Common Agricultural Policy, to devising regulatory regimes to replace tasks currently carried out by EU bodies, according to the report from the National Audit Office (NAO), the UK government’s spending watchdog. They range from programmes that "require extensive work" to ones that are "less significant in size and complexity", it said. The report is the most detailed assessment yet of the scale of the challenge the government faces in preparing Britain for Brexit as the clock ticks down toward its scheduled departure day in March 2019. The work is being undertaken at a time when the civil service has the lowest staffin...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.