Successful negotiations – what Whitehall needs to do to prepare

The negotiations will be lengthy and complex; effectively a twin-track process, covering not only the terms of the divorce but also our future relationship with the EU. David Cameron has announced that it will be for his successor to decide when formal negotiations will begin. Preparation for these formal negotiations is already underway: today the Prime Minister told the House of Commons that negotiations will be supported by a new Cabinet Office unit comprised of officials from across Whitehall, reporting to Cabinet and overseen by Oliver Letwin. This is a positive first step but, as the Prime Minister acknowledged, this is an unprecedented challenge for Whitehall. There are four key things the Civil Service will need in place to support this structure and ensure the negotiations are run effectively: leadership, negotiating parameters, trust, and capability.

Leadership

There must be political leadership from the centre. The Civil Service can set out options and provide advice but politicians must make decisions on the type of negotiation deal the UK should pursue. Pro-Brexit politicians must be involved in these decisions. The arrangements for including these views into the UK’s negotiating position in advance of any change of prime minister are not clear.

Negotiating parameters

Before formal exit negotiations on the terms of the divorce and the future UK-EU relationship begin, the UK Government will need to define the aims and parameters of each set of negotiations. The Civil Service must work with ministers to identify priority areas for negotiation, and establish the UK Government’s negotiating position. The interests of different Whitehall departments and local government will need to be taken into account. And, as David Cameron acknowledged in his resignation speech, it is crucial that the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are involved throughout.

The parameters of the negotiations are not only up to the UK – they will have to be agreed by the EU Council, and the package that is agreed will have to be approved by the European Parliament. Negotiations on the terms of UK withdrawal will focus on issues including: the rights of UK nationals; budget matters; and arrangements for the transfer of EU agencies headquartered in the UK. Negotiations on our future relationship with the EU may cover issues such as future co-operation on cross-border security measures and, crucially, future trading arrangements in goods and services.

Trust

While negotiations will be led by ministers, they will need support and advice from the Civil Service. Whitehall can draw on existing resources to provide the necessary expertise: the Civil Service has lengthy experience of negotiating with Europe, but trust will be just as important. Many of those on the Leave side have expressed concerns about the role of the Civil Service during the referendum campaign.

The Civil Service’s role is to support the government of the day, and the referendum outcome has not changed that – as Sir Jeremy Heywood made clear in his message to civil servants last week. Nonetheless, there is a risk that distrust of civil servants who have previously worked on EU issues undermines negotiations by excluding those with valuable expertise and experience. The Civil Service will therefore need to make sure it has officials in place who have the confidence of the Government as it moves forward.

Capability

Exit negotiations will be a twin-track process requiring different civil service skills and capability at each stage. The immediate priority – agreeing the terms of the divorce – will require support and coordination. This will come from the Cabinet Office unit announced today. Then there will be a second set of negotiations (perhaps started concurrently), which will seek to agree the future UK-EU relationship. The scope and scale of these negotiations will require additional capacity. Trade negotiations will be key. As Sir Simon Fraser, former top official at the Foreign Office, told the BBC Today programme last week, Whitehall expertise in running trade negotiations is limited, as trade was one area of policy previously dealt with by the EU, so the Civil Service will need to develop or acquire this capability. Potential sources of expertise include experienced British nationals working in the EU institutions, and nationals of other countries with long experience of negotiating trade deals, such as Canada or the United States.

Wherever this new capability comes from, it will come at a cost and go against the Government’s long-term ambition to slim down the Civil Service. But building the right capability will be essential to ensure Whitehall can effectively support negotiations, and, once they are concluded, deal with the longer term legal and policy implications of Brexit. All this will need to be managed alongside the delivery of the Government’s existing priorities and the normal requirement to respond to other challenges facing the UK.

The scale of the challenge facing Whitehall in supporting Brexit negotiations should not be underestimated. The decision to leave the EU is not just a minor change of policy, or of governing party – it is a change in the UK’s governing arrangements of a scale that Whitehall has not experienced in living memory. The Civil Service will need to move quickly to respond to political requirements, ensure new mechanisms are properly staffed and supported, and get the best people into position.