The Brexit divorce bill negotiated by Boris Johnson has increased by nearly £10 billion compared to the official estimate when the UK left the EU, ministers have admitted.
The Treasury released an “updated government forecast for the financial settlement” in a written statement to ministers on Thursday as MPs returned to their constituencies for the summer break.
The statement by the chief secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, said the bill was now £42.5 billion, “representing an increase on the original range”.
When Britain left the EU in January 2020, the Office for Budget Responsibility put the figure at £32.9 billion, meaning the cost of the financial settlement rose by nearly £10 billion.
Opposition parties have said Boris Johnson’s “terrible deal” is costing taxpayers
In the statement, the minister insisted that the figure should be compared with the “initial range” of £35-39 billion, which would result in a smaller but still significant increase of around £4 billion.
But the timing of the Treasury announcement at the start of the summer break means MPs will not be able to hold ministers to account over the increase in the House of Commons, as it will not be sitting.
The Treasury says the increase is “mainly due to the latest assessment of the UK’s Article 142 liability for EU pensions”.
The government has promised to pay its share of EU official pensions as a condition of getting a withdrawal deal and avoiding a no-deal Brexit.
The increase in these payments is linked to higher inflation, which has reached record levels in recent months.
The Treasury also said in the statement that it does not plan to release further estimates of the bill, even if it increases further – and that the actual costs will be buried in departmental fine print.
“As all payments will be made from departmental accounts, HM Treasury does not plan to reproduce or consolidate TCA’s financial reporting in future editions of the statement,” the minister said.
“Nor do we intend to report annually our revised estimate of the liabilities expected under the TCA, as the actual costs will appear in future years in the department’s resource accounts.”
Leila Moran, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman, said: “Boris Johnson’s terrible deal, backed by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, is costing the British taxpayer billions of pounds. This is the price of years of conservative chaos and neglect.
“Combined with the government’s failed trade deals, these are leaving British farmers and businesses mired in red tape – unable to compete.
“The Conservative government must recognize how much more a bad deal will cost the country in the future.”
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