Ministers sign fresh round of Brexit contracts worth £160m with outside firms
2 min read
Ministers have signed £160m worth of fresh contracts with outside consultants in a bid to boost preparations for Britain’s exit from the EU.
Many of the new agreements are set to run until April 2020, six months after the UK’s new date of departure from the bloc.
According to data provider Tussell, nine companies that were awarded contracts last year will have them extended.
Major firms Deloitte and Ernst & Young are among those listed while 11 smaller suppliers are said to have been given brand new deals.
Documents published by ministers reveal companies are being paid between £3m and £6m each for services relating to IT, accounting and auditing work and management.
The Government has sought to "draw on the expert advice" of specialists at outside firms since the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016.
BBC analysis from February found ministers had agreed contracts worth £104m for outside help on Brexit.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "As a responsible government we have, and will continue to, draw on the expert advice of a range of specialists to deliver a successful and orderly exit from the EU."
Tamzen Isacsson from the Management Consultancies Association told the BBC that the companies have brought “capacity, insight and skills” at an “unprecedented period of huge workload”.
“This has enabled the government to set up and plan new systems to cope with a whole range of changes from border control to trade, border policy, immigration and other areas,” she added.
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