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Written Question
Overseas Trade
Thursday 1st March 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the oral contribution of 22 February 2018, Official Report, column 310, made by the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the evidential basis is for frictionless trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland being achievable through a widespread and liberal agreement in trade with the EU.

Answered by Robin Walker

The Joint Report issued by the UK and EU sets out our plan to address Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances and the border in the context of the wider UK-EU deep and special partnership. We want a deal that works for all parts of the UK. The Joint Report gives a clear commitment to avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and retaining the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK. The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, both agreed that it was their preference to achieve this through the overall future relationship between the UK and the EU.

As set out in our position paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland, the UK Government set out two broad approaches to a future customs relationship with the EU; a highly streamlined customs arrangement between the UK and the EU, streamlining and simplifying requirements, leaving as few additional requirements on UK-EU trade as possible; and a new customs partnership with the EU, aligning our approach to the customs border in a way that removes the need for a UK-EU customs border.


Written Question
British Irish Chamber of Commerce
Wednesday 17th January 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2018 to Question 119507, if he will publish the representations he received from the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce; and what assessment he has made of those representations.

Answered by Robin Walker

We value the input of all organisations with an interest in our future relationship with the EU.

We do not routinely disclose the content of meetings between this department and external bodies.

Details of Ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Brexit
Wednesday 17th January 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2018 to Question 120198, how many of the 720 staff referred to in that answer have expertise in competition policy.

Answered by Robin Walker

The information you have requested is not held centrally therefore we are not in a position to provide a breakdown of expertise held by particular groups of staff.

The Department for Exiting the European Union is drawing together expertise from a wide range of departments where there is specific relevant knowledge. The Department has sourced a large proportion of experienced staff from across Whitehall on a loan basis and a number of secondees from the private sector and the wider public sector, including in the field of competition law and policy and from the Competition and Markets Authority. All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK.


Written Question
Trade Agreements
Thursday 11th January 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has plans to introduce legislative proposals for a free trade agreement between the UK and (a) the EU and (b) countries outside the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

As we move into the second phase of negotiations we are confident of agreeing a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement with the EU that is of greater scope than any such existing agreement. The Government will introduce further legislation where it is needed to implement the terms of the future relationship into UK law.

Leaving the EU also offers us an opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world: to negotiate our own trade agreements and to be a positive and powerful force for free trade. However, we would not bring into effect any new arrangements with third countries which were not consistent with the terms of our agreement with the EU.

We have been considering what we will need to put in place to ensure that the process of negotiating and implementing new trade deals is transparent, efficient and effective. We want to make provision for a legislative framework that will enable future trade agreements with partner countries to move quickly from signing to implementation and then to ratification, whilst respecting due process in Parliament.


Written Question
Brexit
Tuesday 9th January 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent representations he has received from (a) key stakeholders and (b) individuals on (i) the appeal rights of people who are homeless, (ii) carers' rights, (iii) the rights of EU citizens who have married a UK citizen and (iv) the rights of UK citizens who have married a non-UK EU citizen.

Answered by Robin Walker

Stakeholder engagement is a central element of our Department’s activities as we leave the EU. Ministers and officials from across Government have carried out extensive engagement with stakeholders, including on issues relating to citizens’ rights.

We have delivered a deal on citizens’ rights that will provide EU citizens certainty about their rights going forward, and it means those living here before the UK’s withdrawal can stay.

The Withdrawal Bill aims to maximise certainty for individuals and businesses about their legal rights and obligations as we leave the EU, and provides the basis for a smooth and orderly exit.


Written Question
Brexit
Tuesday 9th January 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of expertise in respect of competition policy in officials engaged in negotiating the deal between the UK and the EU.

Answered by Robin Walker

All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union is a fast-paced, dynamic Department at the heart of Whitehall leading on one of the biggest issues for this Government. It attracts the brightest and the best from across the Civil Service.

We regularly review headcount to ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of our preparations for leaving the EU. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 600 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels.

DExEU staff range from policy advisors to lawyers and economists, and have come from a range of backgrounds with experience in vital fields relevant to our exit from the EU, including competition policy.


Written Question
British Irish Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday 9th January 2018

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what representations he has received from the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce on the recent agreement reached between the UK and the EU related to moving to phase two of the exit negotiations.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

Ministers and officials from across the Government are consulting with a variety of business stakeholders, including the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, to discuss their priorities and concerns as we design our future economic partnership with the EU.


Details of Ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Trade Agreements
Friday 8th December 2017

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2017 to Question 112323, on trade agreements, how many of the organisations listed in that Answer have made representations to him on the priority given by the Government to a trade deal with the EU.

Answered by Robin Walker

Negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU, greater in scope than any such agreement before, is a priority for the Government as we leave the EU. Stakeholder engagement is a central element of our plan to build a national consensus around our negotiating position.

We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, in order to inform our negotiations with the EU. The Government is committed to the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for the entirety of the UK economy.


Written Question
EU Law
Tuesday 28th November 2017

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2017 to Question 110712, on EU law, what representations he has received from businesses on differences to rules and regulations between the UK and the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Answered by Robin Walker

The UK Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to do business and ministers from across Government have carried out extensive engagement on EU exit - with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK.

To make the UK the best place to do business means fostering a high quality, stable and predictable regulatory environment. This means the Withdrawal Bill will, so far as possible, maintain the status quo in this regard and provide a good starting point for a deep and special partnership with the EU. Through the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill we will legislate for the Implementation Period. As the PM said in her Florence speech, the framework for this strictly time-limited period, which can be agreed under Article 50, would be the existing structure of EU rules and regulations.

With regards to the future regulatory relationship this is subject to negotiations, but as the PM set out this should be straightforward in areas where regulation is outside the scope of our trade and economic relations. But there will be areas which do affect our economic relations where we and our European friends may have different goals; or where we share the same goals but want to achieve them through different means. This is where we recognise that the single market is built on a balance of rights and obligations, and so our task is to find a new framework that allows for a close economic partnership but holds those rights and obligations in a new and different balance.

As negotiations progress, we will continue to seek the input of businesses across a range of issues, including on the subject of rules and regulatory differences between the EU and UK.


Written Question
EU Law
Thursday 23rd November 2017

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2017 to Question 111141, on EU law, what assessment he has made of which elements of the EU's supranational framework will not be retained.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill aims, so far as possible, to provide that the laws which apply immediately before exit day will continue to apply in the same way after we leave. The act of leaving the EU means that it is inevitable that some elements of the EU’s supranational legal framework will not - and should not - be retained.

Clause 5 and the accompanying Schedule 1 set out a number of important exceptions to the general retention of EU law under the Bill. The provisions in this Clause and Schedule cover the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the principle of supremacy, challenges to the validity of an EU instrument, the general principles of EU law and Francovich damages.