39. In my last annual report, I expressed the frustration of the Public Accounts Committee and some of our sister select committees at the Government's reluctance to share information about the plans, preparation or costs of Brexit with Parliament.55 Our work on Brexit over the past 12 months have highlighted that this lack of transparency applies not only to Parliament, but also within the Whitehall machinery, and, crucially, the stakeholders, businesses and public that are expected to be able to accommodate new systems and processes at short notice. When departments have consulted with stakeholders it has often taken place under the cloak of non-disclosure agreements, which have prevented industries and business communities from preparing, and developing their own plans.56
40. Over the past year the scale and complexity of the tasks faced by departments has become more evident. Whitehall's ability to plan for Brexit has been hampered by uncertainty about the precise terms of the UK's future relationship with the EU. Departments such as Defra have had to prepare options for several different scenarios, which has sucked in staff from other activities and increased costs. For example, several departments are procuring new IT systems. This Committee knows from long experience that Government IT projects are prone to delays and cost overruns. We have been concerned that departments are expected to deliver these changes to a hard deadline and uncertainty about the precise nature of the final shape of the relationship with the EU adds to the risks.
41. Preparing for the UK's exit from the EU has put immense strain on Whitehall and departments have relied heavily on external consultants to plug gaps in resources and knowledge. We are concerned that the normal, prudent, transparent processes used to procure and report on the use of consultants have been ignored or diminished. We questioned the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office about departments' spending on consultants and will be seeking further information and clarification in the coming months.
42. I am becoming increasing concerned that departments are struggling to cope with Brexit preparations in addition to existing commitments and 'business as usual'. Departments have had to reprioritise, and activities have been paused, abandoned or scaled back. Large numbers of staff have been recruited to help develop and deliver the plans for Brexit. Establishing the systems to ensure that the right staff, with the right skills, experience and training are in the right job is a challenge across Whitehall. Over the coming years the PAC will be scrutinising the impact of these decisions.
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55 Committee of Public Accounts, Third Annual Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, HC 1399, 5 July, p 12 and p 13
56 Committee of Public Accounts, Department for Transport's implementation of Brexit, Seventieth Report of Session 2017-19, HC 1657, 28 November 2018