THERE is an increasing risk that the Department for Transport (DfT) will not be able to deliver projects to ensure the UK sector is ready for Brexit, despite its “determined effort” to address the “significant and complex challenge” the exit from the EU will bring, according to the public spending watchdog.
In a report published yesterday, the National Audit Office (NAO) said the DfT had a “large portfolio” of work to be completed for Brexit spanning aviation, roads, maritime, vehicles and rail.
Its workload includes plans to issue up to seven million International Driving Permits to allow Britons to drive on EU roads after Brexit should there be no agreement on the mutual recognition of UK and European licences by next March.
The NAO said detailed delivery plans had yet to be completed, but the Government told it the project was “deliverable”.
“As the exit programme enters a more complex and pressured phase, the department needs a much clearer overall view of where its programme has got to against where it needs to be, and the overall implications of any slippage, and strengthened mechanisms for taking tough decisions on actions and priorities quickly,” warned the watchdog.
The department estimates, along with its arm’s-length bodies, that it will spend £180 million on EU exit by March 2022. In 2017-18 the department spent £3.1m of the £5.6m allocated to it by HM Treasury for exit work.
It said the DfT faced continued uncertainty around the outcome of the Government’s Brexit negotiations.
For its part, the Government had advised all departments to continue planning in case negotiations are not agreed and to have fully planned contingencies in place by March.
The NAO has recommended that the DfT prioritises its plans and strengthens its capacity to oversee its full range of activities, including determining whether it has the right people and resources to deliver everything it needs in time.
Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said: “These are extraordinary times for the civil service and government.
“The department has achieved a great deal in its preparations but over the coming months it will, like many other departments, need to scramble to prepare for the UK’s EU exit, particularly if we are faced with a no-deal scenario.”
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