Brexit Preparation Has Cost U.K. at Least $5.7 Billion - So Far

(Bloomberg) --

The U.K. government has spent at least 4.4 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) preparing for Brexit since the 2016 referendum, according to figures released by the National Audit Office.

That's about two thirds of the 6.3 billion pounds the Treasury had made available, according to a report published Friday by the government spending watchdog.

Three departments -- the Home Office, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs -- account for more than half of the spending, the NAO said.

About 1.9 billion pounds went on staffing, 1.5 billion pounds on advertising and building IT systems, and 288 million pounds on external advice, according to the report.

As of March 2019, 5% of departmental staff were working on preparations for leaving the European Union. By October that year, Brexit-related staffing hit a peak of 22,000 officials -- including 1,500 working on a no-deal Brexit.

The NAO said that the spending figures are likely to be a minimum due to limitations in the information provided by government departments. It also said it was making no judgment on whether the costs represent value for money.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Evans in London at eevans3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs

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