The National Audit Office warned the Government must be better prepared for all scenarios when dealing with future challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union cost the taxpayer more than £4 billion in additional government costs, the Whitehall spending watchdog has found.

The British government has spent about 70% of the funds allocated to cover the cost of Brexit preparations. The money mostly went to cover staff costs, new infrastructure and gathering external expertise.

Britain’s government has spent at least 4.4 billion pounds of taxpayers’ money on preparations to leave the European Union, the public spending watchdog said on Friday, in the first detailed estimate of the cost of Brexit.

The U.K. government has spent at least 4.4 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) preparing for Brexit since the 2016 referendum, according to figures released by the National Audit Office.

Government departments spent more than £4bn on preparations for leaving the EU, says the public spending watchdog.

The 22,000 civil servants working on EU withdrawal amount to 5 per cent of Whitehall total.

Publicity splurge was much-mocked at the time for leaving people in the dark about the preparations they should make.

The 'Get Ready for Brexit' media blitz cost an estimated £100m — but the National Audit Office suggests the ads failed to resonate.

Ministers still have a “significant amount” of work to do to ensure the continued supply of vital medicines to the NHS in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned.

Ministers will not know whether there are enough medicines, medical supplies or freight capacity to support the NHS if the UK leaves the EU without a deal next month, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.

With three months to go before the UK could leave the European Union (EU), farmers say they still face uncertainty about future subsidy levels. / "We could be wiped out like the coal industry."

NAO says no evidence of strategic thinking about funding needed for food safety

The government paid out £97m to consultants for Brexit preparations, a watchdog has found.