New report warns rapid turnover of Government ministers is ‘derailing Brexit’

Theresa May’s decision to reshuffle her Cabinet ministers has disrupted Brexit preparations, a new report has warned.

The Institute for Government (IFG) said the rapid turnover of ministers in the wake of several resignations could now make it more difficult for the Prime Minister to achieve her wider objectives.

Despite Mrs May’s decision to keep Cabinet “big beasts” such as Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson in place in this month’s reshuffle, the report found that 71% of ministers – 85 out of 122 – are new to their jobs since last year’s general election.

The report found that “preparations for Brexit have been disrupted by the election, by turnover in personnel and by difficulties in parliamentary management”.

While the need to maintain a delicate balance of Brexit views within the Cabinet deprived Mrs May of a “free hand” in choosing her top team, her reshuffles have unleashed considerable upheaval in the lower ministerial ranks, said the report, noting pointedly that this is “where a lot of government business gets done”.

At the crucial Department for Exiting the EU, only two ministers have stayed in place since July 2016, while every minister in the Cabinet Office and three-quarters of those in the Ministry of Justice were replaced in the January 2018 reshuffle.

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The Justice and Culture departments are each on their sixth secretary of state since 2010, while there have been five work and pensions secretaries since 2016.

Meanwhile, the IFG’s annual Whitehall Monitor found that Brexit is driving an increase in civil service staffing after years of cutbacks.

Since the EU referendum in 2016, more than 8,000 additional civil servants have been taken on, with the upward trend “looking set to continue”, as the Home Office recruits 1,200 immigration caseworkers and 300 border staff.

Many of the recruits are in the new Brexit-based Departments for Exiting the EU and International Trade, but others with high exposure to Brexit workstreams, like Environment and Business, were also increasing staff numbers.

IFG director Bronwen Maddox said: ”As Theresa May’s Government enters 2018, Brexit is rightly absorbing significant effort and is the main reason why the civil service has grown in the past year, after years of shrinking.

“But the Government has made commitments to voters on public services, productivity, social mobility and major projects.

“If it fails to meet their expectations, it risks further undermining confidence in government.”

A Government spokesman said: “The Government is focused on delivering our commitment to leave the EU and getting the very best deal for the UK. We are making good progress on the road towards our exit.

“We have triggered Article 50, published 14 position and future partnership papers and taken the Withdrawal Bill through the Commons and its second reading will begin in the House of Lords next week.”