Brexit Uncertainties Disrupt Delivery Of Public Services By UK Government - Report

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 22, 2019 | 08:15 PM

The possibility of a no-deal Brexit has negatively affected the UK government's ability to deliver public services, among other things, an annual Whitehall Monitor report by the UK Institute for Government, released on Tuesday, read

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) The possibility of a no-deal Brexit has negatively affected the UK government's ability to deliver public services, among other things, an annual Whitehall Monitor report by the UK Institute for Government, released on Tuesday, read.

"Two months before the UK's scheduled departure from the European Union, British politics continues to be torn apart by Brexit. Government preparations for the UK's exit have been impeded by political division. Despite the expansion of the civil service during 2018, the day-to-day work of government - from managing major projects to delivering public services - has inevitably been hindered by the all-consuming political focus on Brexit," the report read.

The government has been struggling to meet the growing public demand for health care or "to absorb large spending cuts (such as in prisons)" since the 2015 Spending Review was released, according to the report.

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer [Philip Hammond] has said that the 2019 Spending Review will herald the end of almost a decade of austerity. But with much of the planned increase in departmental spending already earmarked for the National Health Service, and with some other budgets (such as for defence and international aid) also protected, the budgets of unprotected departments will be squeezed further," the UK Institute for Government said.

Last week the withdrawal deal agreed by London and the European Union was voted down in the UK House of Commons, forcing the government to hold a series of cross-party talks to try to reach a consensus. On Monday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May set out her plan B to break the deadlock but said she could not take a no-deal Brexit off the table.