Brexit plans could fall apart ‘like a chocolate orange’, says auditor general

Author (Person)
Series Title
Series Details 13.07.17
Publication Date 13/07/2017
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Report of an interview with selected journalists by the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office, Amyas Morse, July 2017, in which he expressed concern that the United Kingdom government had failed to take a unified approach to talks with the EU. He suggested that the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU), the Treasury and the cabinet office had so far failed to take an 'energetic' lead, leaving other departments to set their own priorities.

Morse said he had suggested to relevant ministers and officials that he would like to see a cross-departmental plan on Brexit implementation. This was not yet forthcoming.

He expressed particular concern regarding the progress of the new Customs Declaration Service (CDS) programme.

The programme was currently operating with some uncertainty due to the unknown outcome of the UK/EU negotiations, and no changes had yet been made to the scope of the CDS programme following the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Any changes to the new system requirements made shortly before the planned implementation date would increase the risk of additional cost or delay to the programme. While HMRC was working to manage the risks and issues, and was developing contingency plans, wider government must choose now whether it needed to do more to help HMRC to mitigate the risk of the system being needed, but not ready in time.

Source Link https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/13/brexit-plans-fall-apart-chocolate-orange-auditor-general
Related Links
UK: NAO: Press Release, 13.07.17: The Customs Declaration Service https://www.nao.org.uk/press-release/the-customs-declaration-service/
BBC News, 13.07.17: New customs system may not be ready for Brexit, NAO warns http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40585744
IFG Analysis, March 2017: The civil service after Article 50 (et al) http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-civil-service-after-article-50/
ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/
UK: NAO: Tag: European Union https://www.nao.org.uk/search/pi_area/european-union/type/report
The Guardian, 13.07.17: 'Chocolate orange' Brexit warning is overdone, says minister https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/13/chocolate-orange-brexit-warning-is-overdone-says-minister

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