By the end of 2018, out of 3,989 workers in the department, 2,700 (68 percent) were transferred to work on the “exit function of the EU”, recently another 320 employees were transferred from other government departments to work in the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (Defra ) in preparation for leaving the European Union.

Most of Brexit's responsibilities include the Department’s search for new mechanisms for farmers, as the country no longer falls under EU common agricultural policies.

Defra said they were required to prepare for all Brexit scenarios, adding that the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture had always relocated employees to various government positions, depending on which department needed the most staff.

A Department spokesman said: “As you would expect, Defra and government departments are working hard to prepare for Britain to leave the EU. The task of the responsible government is to ensure that we are prepared for all the scenarios, and we select and prioritize our resources accordingly. ”