Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many people were involved in negotiating the EU Withdrawal Agreement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Negotiating the Withdrawal Agreement required a cross-government effort, supporting the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU in delivering the negotiations.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the UK is not forced to stay in a customs union by the EU.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The agreed Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, in the Withdrawal Agreement, guarantees that even in the event that the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not in place by the end of the Implementation Period, there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The Withdrawal Agreement provides for a single customs territory between the UK and the EU. This ensures that Northern Ireland remains in the same customs territory as Great Britain, while meeting our commitments to the people of Northern Ireland to ensure no hard border on the island of Ireland. Both sides have been clear that the backstop is an insurance policy which we do not expect to use, and if needed, is explicitly temporary.
The Political Declaration is clear that there will be an economic partnership between the UK and the EU with no tariffs or quotas, with ambitious customs arrangements that build and improve on the Withdrawal Agreement. In building and improving on the arrangements in the Withdrawal Agreement, the Political Declaration is clear that the UK and EU will act in line with the objectives and principles of the agreement, including the development of an independent UK trade policy beyond the economic partnership with the EU.
Preparatory organisational work for the formal negotiations on the future relationship will begin as soon as the Withdrawal Agreement is concluded, and before the UK leaves the EU, focusing on key issues such as the development of alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland on a permanent footing.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Withdrawal Agreement will allow the UK to negotiate trade deals with third countries.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
As set out in Article 129 of the Withdrawal Agreement, during the Implementation Period the UK will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify our own free trade agreements with new partners, and bring them into force after the implementation period.
Furthermore, the text of the Political Declaration is clear that whatever is agreed in the future partnership must recognise the development of an independent UK trade policy beyond this economic partnership.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assurances can be given to UK citizens living in the EU that they will not be deported in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Robin Walker
On 6 December the Government published the policy paper Citizens’ Rights - EU Citizens in the UK and UK Nationals in the EU setting out the details of our offer to EU citizens in the UK in the unlikely event of a no deal scenario. This confirms EU citizens resident in the UK by 29 March 2019 will be able to work, study, and access benefits and services as now and that. The Home Office will continue to run the EU Settlement Scheme, with no changes to the basis for qualifying under the scheme.
This demonstrates the UK Government’s ongoing commitment to citizens and removes any ambiguity over their future.
We are calling for EU Member States to offer the same protections to UK nationals in the EU. Some countries have committed already to do so, and we hope others will do the same shortly. We have instructed our Ambassadors to engage with EU counterparts to urge them to make the same commitment to protect the rights of UK nationals in the EU.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what progress he has made with his counterparts in the EU on the prevention of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as a result of the UK leaving the EU without remaining in (a) a customs union or (b) the single market.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are working at pace with the European Commission to secure a future relationship that meets in full the commitments we made in the December Joint Report on Northern Ireland. This is reflected fully in our White Paper proposals, which would avoid a hard border, preserve the integrity of the UK internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it, and preserve North-South cooperation in line with the Belfast Agreement.
It is rightly the priority on all sides that those issues should be resolved through our future partnership. But we remain absolutely committed to agreeing a legally operative backstop in the Withdrawal Agreement alongside a framework for that future relationship. We have already agreed legal text with the EU on maintaining the Common Travel Area and associated rights and on protecting North-South cooperation. We have put forward an alternative proposal on the customs elements of the backstop, the Temporary Customs Arrangement, that would only come into force in specific and narrow circumstances. We are now intensifying discussions on both fronts as we look ahead to reaching agreement in the autumn.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has had discussions with the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland on the Government’s plan for Northern Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Robin Walker
Over the past months, UK Government Ministers and officials have met a range of stakeholders in Northern Ireland, including representatives of political parties, and made clear that while we are confident that we will agree a deal with the European Union, which remains by far the most likely outcome, it is the responsibility of the Government to continue preparations for the full range of potential outcomes, including no deal. As we do, and as decisions are made, we will take full account of the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland.
In the event there was no deal, the UK Government is clear that we must respect our unique relationship with Ireland, with whom we share a land border and who are co-signatories of the Belfast Agreement. The UK Government has consistently placed upholding the Agreement and its successors at the heart of our approach and we will continue to do so while safeguarding the integrity of the United Kingdom and respecting the principle of consent.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many civil servants are working on his Department's papers to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels working on EU exit work.
The Department continues to recruit the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector. We regularly review headcount to ensure we are appropriately resourced to deliver the Department’s objectives to secure the best possible deal on the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU; and build a deep and comprehensive future partnership between the UK and the EU.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on travel requirements for EU and UK holiday-makers after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State meets regularly with Michel Barnier to discuss the issues related to our exit.
We are discussing all of the issues set out in the White Paper with the EU and have said that we want to enable UK and EU tourists to continue to travel visa-free in the future, maintaining the close links between our people.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many business owners he met during his visit to the Northern Ireland border in April 2018.
Answered by Robin Walker
Details of formal Ministerial meetings on Departmental business are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.
The Secretary of State undertook a private, low-key visit to Northern Ireland on 23 April to deepen his understanding of one of the key issues of Brexit. He met a range of stakeholders in Northern Ireland, including representatives from the agriculture and agrifood sectors and assured them that the Government will uphold our commitments made to the people of Northern Ireland and the Belfast Agreement.