Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to ensure smooth passage of freight and cars between Dover and French channel ports in the event of a failure to reach an agreement on customs arrangements, as a result of leaving the customs union and the single market.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We want our future relationship with the EU to be a deep and special partnership. We are confident that this is very much in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. The Government does not want or expect a no deal outcome and the agreement on an implementation period makes such an outcome less likely.
However, a responsible Government should prepare for all potential outcomes. We have been engaging with border locations and the border industry to understand the operational impacts of any potential changes, especially at key locations like Dover, the Channel Tunnel and Holyhead, which handle large volumes of EU traffic.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to safeguard trade between (1) Fishguard, (2) Pembroke, and (3) Holyhead, and Ireland following Brexit.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In assessing our options for a new customs arrangement with the EU, the Government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK, and by three strategic objectives:
Ensuring UK-EU trade is as frictionless as possible;
Avoiding a ‘hard border’ between Ireland and Northern Ireland; and
Establishing an independent international trade policy.
The Government’s Future Partnership Paper on customs, published in August 2017, set out two approaches to our future customs relationship with the EU that most closely meet these objectives.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what factors they will take into account, and with whom they will consult, in their deliberations on the nature of future customs arrangements with the EU, with particular reference to which of the two approaches they have set out, a highly streamlined customs arrangement or a new customs partnership with the EU, should be pursued.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our future partnership paper on customs arrangements sets out our objectives for a new customs arrangement with the EU, and our proposals to achieve them. The paper seeks views from all those with a stake in our future customs relationship with the EU, and poses a number of specific questions on our proposals for feedback.
We are also continuing to engage in dialogue on our proposals with industry stakeholders, including through a series of business roundtables conducted across the country, involving a range of different sectors. We will continue to engage with interested parties to inform our thinking as we move towards negotiations with our EU partners.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the financial impact on taxpayers of setting a new streamlined customs arrangement once the UK has left the EU; if so, when they expect that impact to manifest; and how long they estimate it will take to put in place the new arrangements.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The government has undertaken a significant amount of work to assess the economic impacts of both approaches highlighted in the recent Future Customs Arrangements paper, but parliament has voted not to disclose material that could damage the United Kingdom’s position in its negotiations with the European Union. When assessing all options for the UK’s future relationship with the EU, the government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK.
The precise nature of a new streamlined customs arrangement, including implementation time, will be determined through negotiations. As set out in the Government's paper in August, the government believes that a model of close association with the EU Customs Union for a time-limited interim period would help both sides to minimise unnecessary disruption and allow for a smooth and orderly transition to any new arrangement.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (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 any future variance in environmental and consumer standards between the UK and the EU on customs arrangements once the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the government has made clear, we are in the process of carrying out a programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work that will contribute to our exit negotiations with the EU, to define our future partnership with the EU, and to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.
We stand by our manifesto commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it, and we will uphold our obligations under international environmental treaties.
We also recognise the importance of having effective protections for consumers buying goods and services across borders, and are determined to cooperate closely with our EU partners on issues of consumer protection after we leave the EU.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (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 economic consequences of no deal being reached with the EU.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
A future partnership between the UK and EU is in the interests of both sides, and we are confident that we will secure a good deal for the UK as a whole.
A responsible government should, however, prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. The government is undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work to assess, across a range of scenarios, the economic impacts of exiting the European Union. However, and as the House of Commons agreed in October and December 2016, it would not be appropriate to publish any such information that could damage our negotiating position.