Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many of his Department’s staff he plans to have working on environmental and climate change negotiations in each of the next three years.

Mr Robin Walker

The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff, and is growing fast. The overall size and scope of the new Department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the forthcoming negotiation.

The Department has welcomed staff on secondment with relevant expertise, including on the environment, and it will continue to have a close working relationship with all relevant Departments, in particular Defra as the lead on environmental policy. I am committed to working closely with my Ministerial counterparts, and recently appeared at the Environmental Audit Committee alongside Therese Coffey, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.