Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of state for Health and Social Care and (b) Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on non-UK EU citizens whose social care packages are funded by local authorities.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We are working across Government to develop and implement our preparations to leave the EU. This includes discussions between my department and DHSC and MHCLG on the rights of EU citizens residing in the UK.
The agreement reached and set out in the Withdrawal Agreement text will provide non-UK EU citizens living in the UK with certainty about their rights going forward. It will allow EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU to continue living their lives broadly as they do now in the countries where they now live. It will enable families who have built their lives together in the EU and UK to stay together. It also gives people more certainty about residence, healthcare, pensions and other benefits.
In a ‘no deal’ scenario, EU citizens and their family members lawfully residing in the UK by 29 March 2019 will be able to continue to access in country benefits and services on broadly the same terms as now. This means that they will retain their entitlement to healthcare, education, benefits and social housing, including supported housing and homelessness assistance, on the same basis as now.
The Government has provided further detail on the rights of EU citizens in the UK following EU Exit in a published policy paper, which can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/762222/Policy_paper_on_citizens__rights_in_the_event_of_a_no_deal_Brexit.pdf
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many current contracts his Department has with Serco; and what the (a) value, (b) start date and (c) end date of each of those contracts is.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Department have no current contracts with Serco.
Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the timetable is for negotiations to begin with the UK's future relationship with the EU on (a) agriculture and (b) the food trade.
Answered by Robin Walker
We have already begun discussions with the EU negotiating team on our Future Economic Partnership and Future Security Partnership.
This builds on the joint publication of the topics for discussion on the future framework. These topics for discussion cover aspects of the economic and security partnerships outlined by the Prime Minister, including discussions on agriculture and food.
Both sides remain committed to reaching agreement on the terms of our future partnership by October.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department has held meetings with (a) the Legatum Institute and (b) Barnabus Reynolds/Politeia on market liberalisation to prepare for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
Ministers from across Government are speaking with stakeholders from a variety of sectors, to understand their concerns and priorities regarding our EU exit. As part of this process, we have engaged with a range of think tanks.
Details of Ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans he has to protect gender equality by bringing forward legislative proposals to transpose provisions on women's rights fully into UK law when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
All substantive protections covered in the Equality Act 2006, the Equality Act 2010 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland will continue to apply in domestic law after exit just as they do now, subject to the correction of any deficient provisions (for example, changing references to “EU law” to “retained EU law”). The EU (Withdrawal) Bill will also convert EU law into UK law as it applies in the UK at the moment of exit.
The Government is committed to ensuring that equalities are properly protected in UK legislation following our withdrawal from the EU. In some areas, such as reporting requirements on gender pay gaps, UK equalities law offers greater breadth than that offered by EU law. Another example is maternity leave allowance which far exceeds the minimum requirement set out in EU law.