Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many non-disclosure agreements have been signed by (a) companies, (b) organisations and (c) individuals in relation to the Government's preparations for the UK leaving the EU without deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We continue to engage with a wide range of businesses to understand their priorities and issues as we leave the European Union, both to inform our negotiating position, and our preparations in the unlikely event of there being no deal.
The Government has non-disclosure agreements with some private sector organisations. Confidentiality requirements are a common component of contractual obligations and are used by the Department to protect commercial considerations as well as negotiation sensitivities.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many non-disclosure agreements have been signed by (a) companies, (b) organisations and (c) individuals in relation to the Government's preparations for the UK leaving the EU without deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We continue to engage with a wide range of businesses to understand their priorities and issues as we leave the European Union, both to inform our negotiating position, and our preparations in the unlikely event of there being no deal.
The Government has non-disclosure agreements with some private sector organisations. Confidentiality requirements are a common component of contractual obligations and are used by the Department to protect commercial considerations as well as negotiation sensitivities.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government has plans to include provisions on the framework for the future relationship with the European Union in the proposals for an EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
No. The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will only implement the Withdrawal Agreement. However the Bill will only be introduced following Parliament’s approval of the final deal covering both the withdrawal arrangements and the framework for the future relationship.
As the Prime Minister made clear in her Florence speech last year, the EU is not “legally able to conclude an agreement with the UK as an external partner while it is itself still part of the European Union”. Therefore, the Government will introduce further separate legislation where it is needed to implement the future relationship into UK law, ensuring Parliament is fully involved.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish the outcome of the joint mapping exercise on border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland carried out by those negotiating on behalf of the Government and the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, has written to the Chair of the Exiting the EU Committee, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, committing to publishing the results of the North-South cooperation mapping exercise as soon as they are available.
Currently, the joint mapping exercise remains part of ongoing negotiations with the EU and further work has been agreed to finalise it.
We are hopeful that we can conclude this soon. We would, of course, seek to coordinate any release of information with the European Commission.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, for what reason the Answer of 16 November 2017 to Question 113491 did not indicate when he plans to publish a future partnership or position paper on (a) services and (b) financial services.
Answered by Robin Walker
On 15 December the European Council confirmed that we will move onto the second phase of negotiations, including discussions on the future relationship. Decisions on the publication of any future UK papers are a matter for the UK Government. We have published 14 detailed papers on the negotiations to date and will continue to set out our positions at the appropriate time. We are seeking a deal that should allow for the freest possible trade in goods and services, including financial services, between Britain and the EU’s member states.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when he plans to publish a future partnership paper or position paper on (a) services and (b) financial services.
Answered by Robin Walker
Over the summer, the Government published a series of papers on the new deep and special partnership the UK wants to build with the EU. These papers represent the hard work and detailed thinking that has been going on behind the scenes across Whitehall since last year’s referendum.
We are continuing a comprehensive programme of engagement with businesses and third party organisations to further inform our thinking. Ministers from the Department for Exiting the EU alone have undertaken a wide-ranging programme of stakeholder engagement in the past year, including attendance at over 50 round tables and over 250 bilateral meetings.
The Government remains committed to securing the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for all sectors of the UK economy. We have been engaging with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK in order to inform our negotiations with the EU. The Government will continue to set out its position as appropriate.