(Prime Minister):I am
making this statement to bring to the attention of the House a
Machinery of Government change.
It is essential that in navigating the UK's exit from the
European Union, the Government is organised in the most effective
way. To that end I am making some changes to the division of
functions between the Department for Exiting the European Union
(DExEU) and the Cabinet Office.
DExEU will continue to lead on all of the Government’s
preparations for Brexit: domestic preparations in both a deal and
a no deal scenario, all of the necessary legislation, and
preparations for the negotiations to implement the detail of the
Future Framework. To support this, DExEU will recruit some new
staff, and a number of Cabinet Office officials coordinating work
on preparedness will move to DExEU while maintaining close ties
with both departments.
I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union deputising on
my behalf. Both of us will be supported by the Cabinet Office
Europe Unit and with this in mind the Europe Unit will have
overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the
negotiations, drawing upon support from DExEU and other
departments as required. A number of staff will transfer from
DExEU to the Cabinet Office to deliver that.
There will be no net reduction in staff numbers at DExEU given
the recruitment exercise described above
