Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 7th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

12. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that the timetable for the UK leaving the EU is met.

[Mr Simon Clarke (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Con)]

14. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that the timetable for the UK leaving the EU is met.

[The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr David Davis)]

We aim to get the right agreement for the United Kingdom and the European Union. Government officials are working at pace, and we have said repeatedly that both parties will need to demonstrate a dynamic and flexible approach in each negotiation round. Flexibility and creativity are needed from both sides, and we have already said that we are willing to meet as frequently as required. We want to reach an agreement about our future partnership by the end of March 2019. From that point, we believe that a time-limited interim period will be in the mutual interest of the United Kingdom and the European Union, allowing people and businesses in the United Kingdom and the European Union to adjust to the new arrangements.

[Bob Blackman]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer. Our future trade relations with the European Union are clearly vital, and it is good news that a queue of trade deals is potentially in the offing for when we leave. Given our unique position with the EU, it is surely perfectly possible to conclude a trade agreement by the time we leave in March 2019.

[Mr Davis]

Yes, my hon. Friend is exactly right. The Bill that we will debate later today is designed with exactly that in mind. The unique nature of the free trade agreement that we are seeking to agree with the European Union is that we all start from exactly the same standards. The previous question related to maintaining the same standards for labour law and other matters, but those standards are actually already better. My hon. Friend is right that our unique position is the key to getting a fast, effective and wealth-creating trade agreement.