• More than £2 billion additional funding across 25 government departments for their Brexit preparations for all scenarios.

• Funding is for 2019/20 priority areas including borders, trade and security.

The government is continuing to ramp up its plans for Brexit and has today (18 October 2018) allocated more than £2 billion for projects across departments.

The money will support vital preparations including getting new border and customs operations ready, gearing up UK trade policy with existing and new international partners, and taking back control of our waters.

More than 25 government departments and arms-length bodies have gone through a needs-based funding process to determine their specific allocation.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

The PM’s deal is the only way to deliver on the referendum while protecting jobs, businesses and prosperity. I’ve worked with departments so they have the resources to prepare as we leave the European Union, including our borders, trade policies and support for businesses. But a responsible government prepares for all contingencies and that is why we’re stepping up no deal planning.

The Treasury has provided more than £4.2 billion for Brexit preparations since 2016. We are now allocating over £2 billion from that fund to continue and step up this work in 2019-20 as we leave the EU.

The Chancellor and Chief Secretary are making arrangements to ensure that departments and the Devolved Administrations can fund measures to address civil contingencies in a no deal scenario. Departments will be able to work with Cabinet Office, DExEU and Treasury to identify and fund contingencies to ensure the welfare, health, and security of UK citizens.

The five biggest Brexit preparation allocations confirmed today are received by Home Office (£480m), Defra (£410m), HMRC (£375m), BEIS (£190m) and the Department for International Trade (£128m). All the funding covers 2019-20, and is for core Brexit activity including deal and no deal preparations. It follows an earlier £1.5 billion allocated at Spring Statement for the 2018-19 year. Projects include:

• Home Office will use its funding to increase Border Force capability with hundreds of new officers, continue preparing the EU Settlement Scheme to offer settled status and prepare law enforcement national security preparations.

• In addition to taking back control of our waters, Defra will use its funding to deliver arrangements at the border and beyond to ensure uninterrupted trade in fish and fisheries products, chemicals, and agri-food.

• BEIS will deliver business stability for company law and audit, in addition to developing options for a UK Global Navigation Satellite System.

• HMRC will employ over 3,000 additional customer service and compliance staff in operational roles to handle increases in customs activity, ensuring trade continues to flow and revenue is protected. HMRC will also use its funding to deliver new technology and IT requirements at the border to ensure trade is as frictionless as possible.

• DIT will use its allocation to securing post-Brexit continuity for around 40 trade agreements covering over 70 countries, accounting for 12% of the UK’s total trade. They will also use their funding for work on future trade agreements around the world.

Including this announcement, since 2016 the Chancellor has provided £4.2 billion towards EU exit preparations.

This consists of:

• £412 million for DIT, FCO and DExEU at Autumn Budget 2016 and over £250 million across a number of departments in 2017-18.

• £1.5 billion Brexit preparedness funding for 2018/2019, allocated at Spring Statement 2018.

• £2 billion Brexit preparedness funding for 2019/2020, allocated today.

The government has published a statutory instrument in relation to the Construction Products Regulation regime in the UK.

The government has today (18 December 2018) laid a statutory instrument to ensure a functioning Construction Products Regulation (CPR) regime when the UK leaves the European Union. These changes are necessary to reflect that the UK will no longer be an EU member state from 29 March 2019.

This statutory instrument delivers the policy approach set out in the technical notice that was published on 13 September 2018. These arrangements will apply in the event that the UK exits the European Union without a deal in March 2019. We do not want or expect a no deal scenario, however it is the duty of a responsible government to prepare for every eventuality including the possibility of no deal.

The UK regime will maintain the requirement on manufacturers to declare the performance of their construction product, in accordance with product standards, when the product is placed on the UK market. The key elements of this legislation are as follows:

• Construction products already placed on the market will be able to continue to circulate in the UK.

• Existing European harmonised standards will become UK ‘designated standards’. This will mean that immediately following exit day the UK and EU standards will be the same. Thereafter, new UK standards will be designated by the Secretary of State.

• Where a UK body has undertaken the third-party conformity assessment processes required under the UK ‘designated standard’, the manufacturer must affix a new UK mark. Further, construction products that meet the harmonised European standard and are affixed with a ‘CE’ mark, can continue to be placed on the UK market without the need for re-testing or additional marking. This approach is intended to minimise disruption in the availability of goods on the UK market. The intention is that these arrangements will be for a time-limited period, and businesses will be given sufficient notice in advance of this period coming to an end.

• Where the product marking is affixed on the basis of self-declaration, then during the time-limited period the manufacturer will have the choice to use either the UK or CE mark (or both).

• For products that are not fully covered by a designated standard, there will be an optional route available to enable products to be UK marked.

This approach will ensure that the Construction Products Regulation regime continues to operate effectively in the UK after we have left the European Union and will provide legal certainty in the event of no deal.

This legislation is subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure. It must be debated and approved by both Houses before it can be made (signed into law) and brought into effect as law.

The UK will leave the EU at 11pm on 29 March 2019.

Published 18 December 2018

Minister of State for the UN Lord Ahmad met War Child Global Ambassador and actress Carey Mulligan to discuss supporting children affected by armed conflict.

Today (18 December) Minister of State for the UN, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon met War Child Global Ambassador and actress Carey Mulligan to discuss galvanising the international community to support children affected by armed conflict around the world.

The meeting follows the launch of the Global Coalition for Reintegration, which aims to ensure children affected by war have access to high quality, long-term programmes addressing psychosocial, education and vocational needs. The UK is a strong supporter of the initiative.

Last year, thousands of children were released from armed or militant groups and over 12,000 received support from UNICEF and partners to reintegrate back into their communities. Despite this, there are still too many children in urgent need of support. The UK is the largest contributor to the UN’s work to support children in armed conflict, providing £800,000 over the last five years.

The UK have also agreed to match up to £500,000 that War Child raises for a new Aid Match appeal on education and psychosocial support for children in the Central African Republic.

Minister of State for the UN, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

We know that whole communities are affected by conflict, but it is children, young girls and women that are often the hardest hit.

I continue to make the case at the UN and with the international community that we must work together to ensure that children in conflict zones receive the support they need to overcome their traumatic past and become forces for peace within their communities.

This is a real and urgent problem, children affected by conflict are over twice as likely to be out of school. This problem needs international consensus to ensure that all children have the opportunity to access their full potential and stop the cycle of conflict.

War Child Ambassador Carey Mulligan said:

On behalf of War Child I’m really pleased to see Lord Ahmad’s commitment to addressing the challenges faced by children in conflict – and we look forward to working with him and the FCO to ensure that the rights of children in war are at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy agenda.

War Child is committed to listening to the experiences of children affected by conflict and providing long-term solutions and supporting them to overcome their experiences and look forward to a meaningful future. 2019 will be an important year with the Global Coalition for Reintegration bringing together the international community to ensure that all children released from armed groups receive the support they need – I’m excited by the role the UK government can play in that.

To have a lasting impact on the one in six children globally that live in conflict zones it’s crucial that the UK government galvanises support across the international community to ensure that every child affected by war has the opportunity to realise their potential.

Further information