Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 27 September (HL10205), what meetings ministers from all departments have held with consumer representatives in relation to the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials from across Government have a regular dialogue with stakeholders from sectors across the economy, including consumer bodies, to discuss their priorities as we leave the European Union.
Details of Ministerial and senior official meetings on Government business are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are made publicly available on GOV.UK.
On 13 November I wrote to the Noble Lady regarding consumer bodies. Appended to this letter was a list of HMG Ministerial engagements with consumer bodies that have been published in transparency returns since January 2018. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will negotiate for (1) the UK to remain part of the system of EU wide registration of trade marks and designs, and (2) the continued right of audience for UK Trade Mark Attorneys before the EU Intellectual Proerty Office, after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government set out its position on the future economic relationship with the EU, including on intellectual property and the cross-border provision of legal services, in the White Paper published on 12 July 2018. The final outcome is subject to future negotiations with the European Union.
In the meantime, we have agreed withdrawal provisions with the EU that cover intellectual property and provide right holders and intellectual property practitioners with legal certainty. In particular, the Government will provide holders of EU trade marks and designs with equivalent UK rights so that they do not experience any loss of protection in the UK after the end of the implementation period. These rights will be provided automatically and for free.
Further, we are working with the EU to ensure that the Withdrawal Agreement contains appropriate provisions for intellectual property practitioners in pending proceedings before the EU Intellectual Property Office at the end of the implementation period. We have made excellent progress across the Withdrawal Agreement and are close to concluding an agreement setting out the terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings ministers have held with consumer representatives about the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials from across Government have a regular dialogue with stakeholders from sectors across the economy, including consumer representative groups such as Which?. This ongoing programme of engagement includes bilateral meetings, roundtables, and visits, to understand these stakeholders’ priorities and concerns regarding our EU exit.
Details of Ministerial and senior official meetings on Government business are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are made publicly available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend that EU regulations that are agreed before the UK leaves the EU, but which do not come into effect until after the UK leaves the EU, will have direct effect in UK law; and if not, what is their intention regarding the applicability of such regulations in UK law.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Clause 3 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill will convert direct EU legislation, including EU regulations, into domestic law so far as they are “operative” in the UK immediately before exit day. EU regulations which are in force before the UK’s departure, but are stated to apply after exit day, will not be converted by clause 3.
The government has announced its intention to negotiate an implementation period with the EU. The framework for this period would be the existing structure of EU rules and regulations. We will need to discuss with the EU the details of how the implementation period will work in practice during the next phase of negotiations. The implementation period will be given effect in domestic law through the Withdrawal Agreement & Implementation Bill.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of different models for a future trading relationship with the EU if the UK pursues a policy of regulatory divergence following withdrawal and during any time-limited transitional period.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are fully focused on making the UK’s exit from the EU, and our new trading relationship with the world, a success. We have set out proposals for an ambitious future trade and customs relationship with the EU, in which we will look to minimise the regulatory barriers for both goods and services between the UK and the EU.
The Government has been undertaking rigorous and extensive analysis work to support our exit negotiations, as any responsible Government should, in order to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. We have been engaging with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK as part of this process, and we will continue to do so as we move forward.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of maintaining regulatory alignment with the EU following the UK’s withdrawal and any time-limited transitional period.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are fully focused on making the UK’s exit from the EU, and our new trading relationship with the world, a success. We have set out proposals for an ambitious future trade and customs relationship with the EU, in which we will look to minimise the regulatory barriers for both goods and services between the UK and the EU.
The Government has been undertaking rigorous and extensive analysis work to support our exit negotiations, as any responsible Government should, in order to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. We have been engaging with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK as part of this process, and we will continue to do so as we move forward.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to maintain protections derived from EU regulations relating to social, consumer and employment rights, and environmental protections, following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill aims to maximise certainty for individuals and businesses about their legal rights and obligations as we leave the EU in order to provide the basis for a smooth and orderly exit. The Bill will ensure that the laws and rules that we have now will, so far as possible, continue to apply.
The Bill will convert directly applicable EU law into domestic law. It will also preserve laws we have made in the UK to implement our EU obligations.
In particular, the UK has a long history of protecting human rights, which is unaffected by our withdrawal from the EU, and a strong history of protecting consumer rights. This Government has also made a clear commitment to protect workers’ rights, and ensure that they keep pace with the changing labour market.
In recent weeks we have published a memorandum setting out where the rights in every article of the Charter of Fundamental Rights will continue to be protected in domestic law after exit, and we have set out how we intends to use the powers under clause 7 of the Bill to make amendments to employment legislation.
The UK has a long history of environmental protection which we will safeguard and improve as we leave the EU. We will then have the opportunity, over time to design a set of policies to drive environmental improvement with a powerful and permanent impact, tailored to the needs of our country. In particular, we are setting out plans to consult on a new, independent body to regulate environment policy and hold government to account on environmental commitments once we’ve left the European Union.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings they have held with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute with regard to Brexit over the past six months, particularly in respect of their undertaking to "continue to engage with...consumer organisations", as set out in their position paper published in August, Continuity in the availability of goods for the EU and the UK.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have regular contact with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) as part of the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP). CPP is an operational and strategic group, chaired by BEIS, and CTSI are fully engaged in all partners' discussions, including on EU exit.
With the negotiations underway, officials from HM Government will continue to engage widely with consumer organisations. We will reach a successful outcome by drawing on the expertise of these groups, understanding their perspectives and working with them to test and validate positions as we prepare to leave the European Union.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to construct an on-going dialogue with consumer and worker representatives with regard to Brexit along the lines of the EU Exit business advisory group.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As part of our commitment to hear from every sector and region in the UK, DExEU Ministers and officials have met with organisations which represent workers and consumers to enable us to understand their issues, and to identify potential post-exit opportunities.
This is an ongoing programme of cross-Whitehall engagement, and we will continue to speak to consumer groups and trades unions, benefitting from their expertise, as we move through the negotiation process and as we develop future plans.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many bills they are preparing as part of the process of leaving the European Union.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is carefully considering what changes need to be made to the statute book to effect the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. The details of the next legislative programme will be announced in the usual manner.