Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Brown Excerpts

Wednesday 20th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

1. What recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU. It is good to see the Benches so busy for Scotland questions.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.

[Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)]

8. What recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[David Mundell]

There is one sure and clear way to avoid a no-deal Brexit, and that is to vote for the Prime Minister’s deal; but on every occasion that SNP Members have had an opportunity to do so, they have declined. Indeed, they have sought to bring a no-deal Brexit closer to reality.

[Alan Brown]

Instead of these weasel words and standard answer, will the Secretary of State answer the question? The Government agree that no deal would be a disaster. Does he agree with extending article 50 to rule out a no-deal scenario?

Draft Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Alan Brown Excerpts

Wednesday 13th February 2019 General Committees

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

The Minister says there will be future opportunities. Surely, as the Minister responsible, he has already identified those opportunities and planned a timeline for making the fixes he thinks are required. Will he clarify that?

[Oliver Dowden]

The best approach to identifying opportunities for reforming procurement laws is to look at those laws in totality once we have left the European Union so that, to the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Yorkshire, we can consider their full scope rather than doing things in a piecemeal fashion. In that way, we will be able to reform EU procurement law in its totality and ensure that we address the range of concerns about how that law works. Since we will no longer be bound by it, we will have the opportunity to do that in a full-hearted way.

[Oliver Dowden]

That is one example. There are many such examples. The Government are still working on the assumption that we will reach agreement on the withdrawal agreement, that it will be passed by Parliament and that we will have a transition period, which will allow us two years to consider this further. I would like to have a Green Paper first so that we can discuss all the ideas before formally bringing forward legislation, to make sure we capture all the related issues.

[Alan Brown]

Can the Minister explain what checks and balances there are? The EU procurement rules were about open competitive tendering. We know that with Ferrygate it was a direct award. What checks and balances are there to stop the UK Government, rather than the Cabinet Office, from having too much power in the procurement process?

[Oliver Dowden]

The draft regulations take all the existing EU procurement rules and replace them in the law of the United Kingdom. All the remedies that exist under EU law will exist under these regulations. Such cases can be pursued in court, as was the case previously. There is no change to the law other than to bring these things into UK law, and no change to the remedies—they still exist in the courts as they did previously.

This statutory instrument confers a number of regulation-making powers. They mirror powers that the EU Commission and the European Council have under EU directives and regulations or the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The current procurement regulations are subject to the derogation in article 346 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. That provision enables the UK to take necessary measures to protect essential security interests connected with the production of or trade in armed munitions and war material. That includes overriding the procurement rules or aspects of them.

To ensure that the UK continues to benefit from this important derogation once we have left the EU, we have incorporated the text of article 346 into the procurement regulations, with appropriate modifications. Currently, the arms and munitions that fall within the scope of the derogation are determined by a list drawn up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community as it then was, back in 1958. The list includes portable and automatic firearms, ammunition, guided missiles, military vehicles and so on. The modifications we have made include a power for the Secretary of State for Defence to update that 1958 list, for example to take account of developments in technology. Given the nature of this regulation-making power and its potential to affect the scope of the procurement regulations, its exercise has been made subject to the affirmative procedure.

The other regulation-making powers will be exercised by the Minister for the Cabinet Office. They include the function to revalue the main financial thresholds following a biennial review on the same basis as the European Commission, and to convert thresholds of the agreement on Government procurement directly into equivalent sterling values. Also transferred is the power that the directives confer on the Commission to update the exemptions to the use of electronic means of communication, in the light of technological developments, and to update the technical requirements relating to tools and devices for the electronic receipt of tenders, as well as to take account of technological developments.

The updates would be made through regulations that are subject to the prior consent of Welsh Ministers or Northern Ireland Departments in respect of devolved Welsh or Northern Ireland authorities. The Commission’s power to amend the list of international agreements in the field of environmental, social and labour law, set out in annexes to the directives, has also been conferred on the Minister for the Cabinet Office by means of the Minister’s power to treat the list as though certain international agreements were removed and others not covered were listed. Again, any ensuing regulations are subject to the prior consent of Welsh Ministers or Northern Ireland Departments in respect of Welsh or Northern Ireland devolved authorities.

Finally, the Commission currently has the power to amend the annexes to EU regulation 2195/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common procurement vocabulary—CPV. That regulation will become retained direct EU legislation on exit day. The Minister for the Cabinet Office is given the same power to amend the annexes to the retained version of the regulation.

Leaving the EU

Alan Brown Excerpts

Tuesday 12th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

It is no good the hon. Gentleman shaking his head. What the European Court of Justice made clear in its determination was that it was open to an individual member state to request a revocation of article 50, but that that meant staying in the European Union.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

rose—

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

What the Government are doing is taking the instruction of this Parliament, which was to get changes to the withdrawal agreement and to the backstop, so that this Parliament can agree a deal. That is what we are working on and what we are determined to deliver.

[Alan Brown]

On the “trust me” and “hold your nerve” theme, let us look at the no-deal preparations in terms of the ferry contract. Using an emergency procedure exemption for direct awards to the ferry companies in breach of European rules, there was an award to a ferry company with no ships and negative assets. Yesterday at the Dispatch Box, the Transport Secretary said, “Don’t worry, it hasn’t cost taxpayers money”—we now learn that up to £800,000 has been spent on external consultants —and he ducked issues about legal challenges while his Department was in court. Will the Prime Minister sack the Transport Secretary, or is that the general level of competence of this Government, which we are supposed to have trust in?

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Alan Brown Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

Going back to the intervention of the hon. Member for Stirling (Stephen Kerr), is it not insane to say that agreeing to the Prime Minister’s deal will lead to an orderly Brexit? All it would do is put stuff into a transition period, during which time we would not know what is happening. Even the Prime Minister is now arguing that she needs to go back and change the backstop. There is no orderly Brexit, and there is no deal to agree.

[Ian Blackford]

The Government like to talk about an implementation period, but what are they implementing? They only thing they have come forward with is a deal to leave the European Union. The relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is to be left to the future, and there is no knowing how long that will take. According to the papers in front of us, it will supposedly happen within a two-year period, but many believe that it could take five years or perhaps even longer. There is no certainty with what the Government are bringing forward.

We have still not seen any economic assessment of the Government’s deal. Either the Prime Minister has not instructed her Government to conduct one, or they will not publish it due to the reality of the hardship that her deal will bring. We are being asked again to vote for a blindfold Brexit and to sleepwalk into the future without facts and analysis from the Government about what the deal means for our economy. It is an insult to this House and each and every Member in it.

I wish to ask the Prime Minister a question—I hope she reads this in Hansard, as she is not here. Will she publish the details of the impact of her deal on the economy and contrast it with the status quo? The Government are refusing to end the shroud of secrecy and publish an economic analysis, but let me remind the House of the facts. Analysis by Scottish Government officials found that by 2030, under a free trade agreement, GDP would be £9 billion lower than it would have been if we had stayed in the EU—equivalent to £1,600 per person in Scotland. The Bank of England has warned that crashing out of the EU without a deal would be worse than the 2008 financial crisis, with house prices plummeting by as much as 30% and the Bank of England rate being hiked to 4%. Brexit uncertainty is already damaging our economy to the tune of £600 per household per year. Jobs and investment are at risk, and our economy is set to be weaker and smaller. How can any Member of this House countenance that?

We were elected to protect our citizens, not punish them, but Brexit will inflict undue pain across all parts of the United Kingdom. With this deal or no deal our constituents are set to suffer, and we cannot allow that to happen. Some Brexiteers argue that we will be okay without the internal markets of the EU. They are in cloud cuckoo land, harking back to the past. I say this to them: it is over.

Let us look at the facts. The UK’s trade with County Cork is worth almost as much as its entire trade with South Africa. Trade with Ireland is worth more to the UK than trade with India, Japan, New Zealand and Australia put together. As “Scotland’s Place in Europe” demonstrated, even if the UK signs agreements with the 10 biggest non-EEA single country trading partners, including the USA, China and Canada—a process that would take many years—that would cover only 37% of Scotland’s current exports. By contrast, 43% currently go to the European Union. The idea that we will be better off outside the European Union is a fallacy.

Leaving the EU

Alan Brown Excerpts

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I must say to the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) that his constituency always sounds an immensely agreeable place, and therefore I really must visit.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

After two and a half years of complete lack of direction, the Prime Minister wants us to vote for this agreement, which only puts everything into touch and into the transition period. Yet she is somehow trying to convince herself that, to avoid the backstop and avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland, within the next year and a half or so she can agree a trade deal, a customs deal and find from nowhere a technology solution—invented, trialled and implemented within that year and a half. Will she tell me the key milestone dates for this magic solution, and can she name one major IT infrastructure project delivered in such a timescale?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman talks about the direction over the past two and a half years. The Lancaster House speech, the Florence speech, the Munich speech, the Mansion House speech, the December 2017 joint report, the agreement in March last year of the arrangements for the implementation period, and now of course the political declaration and the withdrawal agreement—they set a very clear direction and it is a good direction for this country. It is a good deal for Scotland and for the whole UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Brown Excerpts

Wednesday 12th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

10. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of the EU withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

12. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of the EU withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland.

[Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)]

13. What assessment her Department has made of the effect on Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Karen Bradley]

I think that it is clear that this Government want to see us go into the future relationship with the European Union by 31 December 2020 and that the backstop is an insurance policy that none of us wants to see activated.

[Alan Brown]

Article 5 of the Ireland-Northern Ireland protocol on the withdrawal agreement, which states that

“free movement for Union citizens and their family members, irrespective of their nationality, to, from and within Ireland”,

means that people will be able to move about as part of the common travel area. So with the end of free movement post Brexit, what additional checks will be imposed on people travelling to and from Northern Ireland from the UK mainland?

[Karen Bradley]

The hon. Gentleman does not understand the way that the common travel area works today and the fact there is free movement across the island of Ireland for all citizens and nationalities. Of course there is a good working relationship between the Border Force agencies in Northern Ireland and their equivalents in the Republic, so that we can ensure that those who do not have the right to be in the United Kingdom do not access the United Kingdom.

Exiting the European Union

Alan Brown Excerpts

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady seems to have misunderstood what I said in my statement and appears to think that we are abandoning in total the legally binding aspect of the deal that has been agreed. She talks about protecting jobs, and that is exactly why we have negotiated and set out clearly the ambitious free trade agreement for the future and the free trade area that would enable us to protect jobs up and down the country.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

After two years of telling us that no deal is better than a bad deal, it is an insult to our intelligence to tell us that no deal is so catastrophic that we have to vote for the Prime Minister’s bad deal, yet at the same time she says, “Don’t worry, we’ve prepared for a no deal.” When it comes to no deal, the reality is that she had a Brexit Secretary who did not know how important the port of Dover was and a Transport Secretary who did not bother to visit the port of Dover from June 2016 to October 2018. That is how far behind the Government are in their no-deal preparations. Is the Prime Minister not insulting our intelligence further by saying that she is ready, and is it not the case that she has never had control of this situation?

[The Prime Minister]

The no-deal preparations will continue, as I said earlier in my statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alan Brown Excerpts

Wednesday 5th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

It is incredibly important that we work together closely in this area. The hon. Gentleman makes some valid points about the types of crime, and that is why we must also work collaboratively with our police and crime commissioners. I know that he has a good relationship with the North Wales police and crime commissioner. Although this is a reserved matter, we are determined to work closely with Wales and ensure that the right resources are available, particularly in the case of county lines problems, which do not respect borders.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

2. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in relation to poverty in Wales.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Alun Cairns)]

I regularly speak with my Cabinet colleagues on a host of issues affecting Wales. Prosperity in Wales is my No. 1 priority. It is crucial that those experiencing poverty get the support that they need and that no one is left behind. We will consider the interim report’s findings carefully.

[Alan Brown]

It is good to hear that the Secretary of State will consider the report. The UN special rapporteur praised the Scottish Government for what they are doing to mitigate the austerity cuts from the Tory Government, but he also noted that the powers of the Welsh Government are limited in that respect. What representations has the Secretary of State had from the Labour Welsh Government about getting additional powers to mitigate that and implement welfare in a fairer manner?

[Alun Cairns]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about the devolved settlement. He will be well aware that the Wales Act 2017 passed through this House not so long ago, but at no stage were there any calls to devolve functions from the Department for Work and Pensions or to devolve welfare, because of the volatility that that creates on the budget.

Leaving the EU

Alan Brown Excerpts

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I suspect the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation knows the interests of Scottish fishermen, and how those interests should be provided for, rather better than the SNP does.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

In this withdrawal agreement document, article 5 of the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, on the common travel area, confirms that

“associated rights and privileges can continue…in particular with respect to free movement for Union citizens and their family members, irrespective of their nationality, to, from and within Ireland.”

Surely, this either means that free movement will continue via Northern Ireland, or there will be a border in the Irish sea and people travelling from Northern Ireland will be subjected to extra checks.

[The Prime Minister]

The common travel area is an arrangement with Ireland that has been in place since the 1920s. It is absolutely right that we maintain that common travel area. That has been provided for in the withdrawal agreement, and it is the right thing to do.

Progress on EU Negotiations

Alan Brown Excerpts

Thursday 22nd November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham).

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

With regard to transport, the previous Brexit Secretary admitted that he did not understand the criticality of Dover. Shamefully, it took from June 2016 until just last month before the Transport Secretary bothered to go and visit the port of Dover. After two years of the Transport Secretary promising an aviation agreement, he now admits that talks have not even begun. Does this not prove, first, that there are no plans in place for no deal; and secondly, that this absolute ineptitude means that there is no way that this Prime Minister would be able to negotiate proper agreements in an implementation period?

[The Prime Minister]

There are plans in place for no deal, and the Government are continuing to work on those.