Move followed hiring of 1,300 staff at Defra, which has a large no-deal Brexit workload

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

British civil servants have been offered mental health support to ease the stress of preparing for a no-deal Brexit, it has emerged.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) employed a company with a “cognitive behavioural counselling approach” to provide a wellbeing service for three months until January this year.

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It coincided with the recruitment of about 1,300 staff as Defra bolstered its “emergency preparedness in case of a no-deal scenario”, with the department responsible for food and water, waste strategies and animal movements – meaning it has one of the largest no-deal Brexit workloads.

A Defra spokesperson said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our staff is always a priority for Defra and we have a range of services on offer to support staff’s mental health. This short-term contract expired at the end of January and bolstered our own wellbeing services for two months while we made changes to our existing employee support.”

It is understood the service was then brought in-house once the department made changes to its support programmes and increased capacity.

A description of the contract read: “Onsite wellbeing counselling for a short period during EU exit preparations in London, Bristol and York. Primarily for those working in EU exit hubs during emergency preparedness in case of a no-deal scenario.”

The Gloucester-based employee assistance company Care First was paid £40,000 to provide the support services to Defra staff in London, York and Bristol. The contract was awarded on 30 November last year, although it began on 1 November.

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On its website, the care provider said of its employee assistance programmes: “A consistent and increasing demand for quality, performance and results is placing increased pressure on employees to remain effective at work.

“Pressure and stress are not uncommon within most people’s daily working lives, but if not managed effectively can have a significant and negative impact on productivity, morale and the bottom line.”

In a letter to the EU energy and environment parliamentary sub-committee in November, the environment secretary, Michael Gove, said Defra was doing everything in its power to prepare for a no-deal scenario.

He recognised that such an outcome would complicate live animal exports and that regardless of the nature of Brexit, the UK was undertaking measures to increase its surveillance capacity as it prepares to become an “independent coastal state”.

Gove also said farmers and food producers would face “considerable turbulence”, with food prices rising in the event of no deal amid friction on the border and potential tariffs.

It has been reported that Defra still requires approval for eight pieces of Brexit-related no-deal legislation.