To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Question 70 of the oral evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 4 December 2024 on The work of the Cabinet Office, HC 463, what the (a) current and (b) target size is for the number of staff in the EU Relations Secretariat.
Answered on
7 January 2025
On 24 July 2024, the Prime Minister announced via a Written Ministerial Statement that responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the EU, including co-chairing the ministerial structures under the UK’s treaties with the EU, would move to the Cabinet Office.
The EU Relations Secretariat was established in the Cabinet Office to give effect to the Government's manifesto commitments to reset the relationship with the EU, deliver on our commitments in the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and implement the Windsor Framework in good faith and protect the UK's internal market.
The EU Relations Secretariat brings together civil servants who were already working on EU relations from across the government. The data on this headcount will be published in the usual way.