| Author (Person) | Owen, Joe |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Institute for Government |
| Publication Date | June 2018 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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The UK Government, both ministers and officials, was grappling in 2018 with one of the biggest, most complex peacetime challenges in its history – Brexit. This paper set out the progress made to date (June 2018) and the challenge ahead. Political divisions over Brexit were creating a culture of secrecy in Whitehall. This report argued that the greatest challenge in delivering Brexit now stemmed from the inability of a split Cabinet to make critical decisions. Political tensions were encouraging secrecy, where access to key documents was highly restricted. Important information was not being shared between departments, and those outside government with a legitimate reason to be kept informed, such as Parliament and business, were being kept in the dark. This secrecy made effective co-ordination across departments, devolved administrations and public bodies difficult. Preparations were being hindered by competing ministerial preferences, lack of information and the deferral of critical decisions on the UK’s preferred future relationship. The report also identified three other challenges, including struggling to get (and keep) the right civil servants in place, inconsistent planning assumptions and ineffective consultation with business. The paper made five recommendations to help get Whitehall back on the road to delivering Brexit: + The Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) and the Cabinet Office should set out how they plan to run formal negotiations with the EU after March 2019, and how the rest of Whitehall would be involved. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/preparing-brexit-how-ready-whitehall |
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| Countries / Regions | United Kingdom |
