Explainers
Our explainers cover key subjects relating to our work, setting out key facts and figures and answering the most important questions about government.
Explore our explainers
Barnett formula
The Barnett formula is used by the UK Treasury to calculate the annual block grants for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments.
UK–EU future relationship: UK ratification
On 24 December, the UK and EU reached an agreement to govern their future trading and security relationship from the end of the Brexit transition peri
Coronavirus: how countries supported wages during the pandemic
This explainer summarises how different countries supported wages during the pandemic, and how those schemes developed and changed during the crisis.
Trade: the UK landbridge
The UK landbridge refers to the route that connects the Republic of Ireland to the rest of the EU via mainland Britain’s road and ports network.
Jeremy Wright
Jeremy Wright reflects on giving legal advice to government, the styles of different PMs and the importance of DCMS as an economic department.
Andrea Leadsom
Andrea Leadsom reflects on working to deliver Brexit in different departments, reforms to the House of Commons and learning about energy on the job.
Ministers’ private offices
Every government minister has a private office. This is a small team of civil servants dedicated to supporting ministerial duties and decisions.
The public appointments process
How the public appointments process is run and who plays a role in it.
Disputes under the Withdrawal Agreement
The UK–EU Withdrawal Agreement is the Brexit deal that formally took the UK out of the EU.
The extension of coronavirus powers and the “Brady amendment”
The Commons will vote on whether the government should be able to keep using the emergency powers it was given in the Coronavirus Act 2020.