Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Institute of Directors' statement, with other business groups, against a "no deal" Brexit.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
My Department continues to engage with businesses and representatives to understand their priorities and issues as we leave the European Union.
Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains our top priority and is the best way of avoiding a no deal scenario. However, until MPs have voted to approve the deal and with 12 weeks until we leave the EU, we will continue to prepare for every eventuality. That is the responsible thing to do.
We are clear that the UK will aim to minimise disruption for businesses in the short term, in a no deal scenario.
We’ve published 106 technical notices, which provide important information for businesses and, following Cabinet’s agreement on Tuesday, will provide further detailed guidance for businesses to follow over the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of ending freedom of movement on UK citizens after Brexit.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has been clear that freedom of movement will end when the UK leaves the EU. In future, it will be for the UK Government and Parliament to determine the domestic immigration rules that will apply. The White Paper The UK’s future skills-based immigration system sets out the foundation for a single immigration system, where it is workers’ skills that matter, not where they come from. In line with the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation, we will focus on the highly skilled, and prioritise those migrants who bring most benefit to the UK to maximise the benefits of immigration. This represents a sensible, balanced package which will support the economy and enable us to take control of immigration.The Home Office is launching a year-long engagement process to enable businesses and other stakeholders to shape the details of policy and processes.
Recognising the depth of the UK-EU relationship, the UK has made a sovereign choice to seek reciprocal mobility arrangements with the EU in a defined number of areas, for example to allow business professionals to move to provide services, or tourists to continue to travel visa-free. This is reflected in the political declaration on our future relationship and the detail will be discussed in the next phase of negotiations. Our future immigration system will be flexible to incorporate any mobility arrangements from trade deals we do around the world, including with the EU.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to remain part of Creative Europe after the current funding period concludes in 2020.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Cooperative Accord on Culture and Education proposed in the White Paper demonstrates our undiminished commitment to supporting European culture. The Political Declaration is a significant step towards delivering on this proposal, setting out that the UK and EU will establish terms for UK participation in EU programmes in areas of shared interest, including culture and education, and wider dialogue and exchanges with a view to identify opportunities to cooperate, share best practice and act together.
The next generation of EU programmes are currently under negotiation in the EU. The Government will make decisions on participation in specific programmes in light of these negotiations and wider UK priorities. Where the UK does participate, the Political Declaration sets out that it should do so on the basis of a set of agreed terms and conditions. These terms ensure that the UK will make a fair and appropriate financial contribution, UK participants will be treated fairly, and that the UK will be included in management and consultation of the programme reflecting the level of UK involvement. Both sides will be able to ensure that programme funding is managed properly.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to preserving freedom of movement for the performance and production of creative works after Brexit.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has been clear that free movement of people will end as we leave the EU.
In future it will be for the UK Government and Parliament to determine the domestic immigration rules that will apply. We are carefully considering a range of options for the future immigration system and we will make decisions based on evidence and engagement. This will help us design a new immigration system that works in the national interest. We will publish a White Paper on the future border and immigration system later this year.
But we recognise that mobility is a key element of economic, cultural and scientific cooperation. That is why we want to agree a reciprocal mobility framework with the EU that will support businesses to provide services and allow people to travel without a visa for temporary business activity.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they are making for UK citizens to be able to buy property in Greece after the UK has left the European Union; and what advice, if any, they provide to those who wish to do so.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK nationals are bound and protected by Greek domestic law when purchasing and selling property in Greece, in the same way that the law of the UK protects property rights in the UK. We do not expect that the UK’s exit from the EU will change this.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they are making for UK citizens to be able to work in Germany after the UK has left the European Union; and what advice, if any, they provide to those who wish to do so.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK nationals residing in Germany before the end of the implementation period will fall under the protection of the Withdrawal Agreement and will be able to continue to live their life broadly as they do now.
Equal treatment principles will continue to apply for UK nationals covered under the Withdrawal Agreement, meaning they will continue to be eligible to apply and be considered for work on an equal basis after the end of the implementation period, with nationals of their host member state as under current EU rules.
As part of future relationship, we want to agree reciprocal mobility arrangements with the EU that will support businesses to provide services and move their talented people and allow people to travel visa-free for temporary business activity.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they plan to introduce to deal with the border between Gibraltar and Spain following the UK’s departure from the EU; and what negotiations have taken place with (1) the EU, and (2) Gibraltar, regarding those new arrangements.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is negotiating on behalf of the whole UK family, including Gibraltar. We are clear that Gibraltar is covered by our exit negotiations, including the agreements reached on citizens’ rights and an implementation period in December and March. The agreement on citizens’ rights protects cross-border passage for Gibraltarians and EU nationals.
Her Majesty’s Government is committed to fully involving the Government of Gibraltar as we negotiate our departure from the EU, to ensure their priorities are properly taken into account including the functioning of the border. And that is exactly what we are doing through the UK-Gibraltar Joint Ministerial Council (Gibraltar EU Negotiations), which was chaired most recently by Minister Robin Walker on 8 March.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they intend to negotiate for the border between Gibraltar and Spain.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Ensuring a well-functioning Gibraltar-Spain border is a key objective for the UK Government. A well-functioning border is also in the interests of the surrounding Spanish region, including the thousands of Spanish workers who cross the border every day. As the Prime Minister said in her statement to the House of Commons on 29 March, we are absolutely steadfast in our support of Gibraltar, its people and its economy.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
Her Majesty's Government what safeguards for the United Kingdom Overseas Territories are intended to be included in the negotiations to leave the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have been clear that our exit negotiations cover the Overseas Territories.
We continue to engage closely with the Overseas Territories including through the Joint Ministerial Council [Overseas Territories EU Negotiations] which has met twice, including most recently on Wednesday 12 July, to ensure their priorities and interests are understood.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they will give in their negotiations on leaving the EU to securing an agreement continuing the annual increase in the UK state pension for UK citizens who remain living in EU member states.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The Prime Minister was clear in her letter to the President of the European Council that we should seek an early agreement on the rights of UK nationals in the EU and EU nationals in the UK, on a reciprocal basis. This is a priority issue for the forthcoming negotiations and, as the Prime Minister has emphasised, we will always put the interests of citizens first.