The government has been accused of leaving businesses “in the dark” after it admitted that a long-expected paper on the future of financial services after Brexit may never be published.
Senior figures in the City said that they had been promised a detailed position paper last autumn that would set out Britain’s priorities for the financial services sector, which accounts for more than 1.1 million jobs nationwide.
The Department for Exiting the European Union has published several position papers over the past year that outline its stance on issues including science and innovation, the European Court of Justice, defence and foreign policy. Yet the delivery of a paper on financial services has been delayed and now ministers are considering not publishing one at all.
A spokesman for the department would not commit to publishing, saying: “We will keep under review what is the best way of advocating our position — be that in private discussions, speeches, or a formal position paper.”
The Financial Times reported that the government had been unable to agree a detailed position on the sector and that some officials were reluctant to show Brussels their negotiating hand.
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The potential decision to shelve the position paper has been greeted with dismay from organisations representing financial services, which say that a paper is essential for businesses trying to plot their post-Brexit strategy.
Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Treasury select committee, said: “The failure to publish sends all the wrong signals . . . A paper articulating a clear sense of direction and a desired end-state could have boosted confidence that the government is up to the task.”
There are fears that a lack of clarity from the government over a plan for the City may lead banks to plan for a worst case scenario that involves moving more operations out of Britain.
Catherine McGuinness, of the City of London Corporation, said: “When so many other sectors have been given this clarity, the City is left in the dark.”