One of the world’s largest consultancy firms has insisted that a leaked memo that claimed there was no government-wide Brexit plan was meant for “internal audiences” and was not commissioned by the Cabinet Office.
Deloitte issued a statement after Theresa May’s spokeswoman launched an attack on the reporting of the memo in which she said the story represented a “firm touting for business and aided by the media”.
A spokesperson for the company said: “This was a note intended primarily for internal audiences. It was not commissioned by the Cabinet Office, nor any other government department, and represents a view of the task facing Whitehall. This work was conducted without access to No 10 or input from any other government departments.”
The memo, which was obtained by the Times, said Whitehall was working on more than 500 projects relating to leaving the EU and might need to hire 30,000 extra civil servants. The report led to a number of groups warning that Whitehall was struggling with the unprecedented scale of the Brexit task.
Downing Street called it an “unsolicited document that has had nothing to do with the government at all” – although Theresa May’s spokeswoman admitted David Cameron’s government had used the company to look at issues around Brexit.
The union official representing the most senior civil servants warned that leaving the EU posed the single biggest task for the UK’s civil service since the second world war.
Dave Penman – general secretary of the FDA, which represents leading public servants including permanent secretaries – said there was “no indication” that May would use next week’s autumn statement to boost funding.
But he said that ministers would reap the consequences of “Brexit on the cheap” with other policy priorities being squeezed out.
“Whether the memo represents a considered government position or not, it’s clear that unpacking 40 years of EU membership is the single biggest task facing the civil service since the second world war,” he said.
“While politicians squabble about hard and soft Brexit, there is a deafening silence from ministers over whether any additional resources will be provided to deliver this momentous task. Brexit on the cheap appears to be the government’s preferred approach, but this will satisfy no one.”
He said that while the autumn statement might be used to offer money for two new Brexit departments, there was no suggestion that ministers would plough more money into the work going on in other key areas, such as environment, work and pensions or in the Home Office.
“There is no indication that they are considering additional resources to government departments to support the Brexit process,” he said. “This will be ministerial priority – but what is going to give?”
