Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff in his Department are working on the Great Repeal Bill; and how many staff in his Department he expects to be working on that Bill by the time of its Second Reading.
Answered by David Jones
The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 250 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. This includes teams working on the Great Repeal Bill, and the Department is growing rapidly.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many trade negotiators his Department plans to employ by the end of the current fiscal year.
Answered by Robin Walker
Britain has been at the forefront of the free trade-supporting countries in the EU for the last 40 years. The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and is growing fast. The overall size and scope of the new Department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the forthcoming negotiation.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff his Department plans to employ by the end of the current financial year; and in which regions those staff will be employed.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.
As a new department we do not yet hold diversity data for all of our staff but we will be collecting this in line with standard Civil Service practice.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff are employed in his Department (a) in each region and (b) by gender; and in which Departments those staff were previously employed.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.
As a new department we do not yet hold diversity data for all of our staff but we will be collecting this in line with standard Civil Service practice.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy to continue UK access to the Schengen Information System for law enforcement purposes once the UK exits the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security with our European and global allies will be maintained. We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe - our aim will be to continue cooperation where it is in the national interest to protect the public. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what his policy is on future UK involvement in the European Arrest Warrant.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security with our European and global allies will be maintained. We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe - our aim will be to continue cooperation where it is in the national interest to protect the public. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what his policy is on future UK membership of Europol.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security with our European and global allies will be maintained. We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe - our aim will be to continue cooperation where it is in the national interest to protect the public. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy to ensure the UK maintains the requirements of Council Directive 1999/74/EC on battery hens.
Answered by David Jones
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by my Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (written question 43718).
The EU-wide ban on keeping hens in ‘battery’ (conventional) cages in 2012 represented a significant welfare advance across the EU, was supported by the UK and has been implemented in full. The Government has a manifesto commitment to protect farm animal welfare and to push for high animal welfare standards to be incorporated into farming policy.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what his policy is on future UK participation in the EU cybersecurity strategy.
Answered by David Jones
We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security, including on cyber security, with our European and global allies will be undiminished. We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what process his Department has put in place to assess EU Directives and Regulations and whether it will be necessary to transpose each into UK statute.
Answered by David Jones
As the Prime Minister has made clear, the UK remains a member of the EU until our withdrawal is completed. We will exercise our rights and meet our obligations as a member of the EU accordingly, including the existing directives. The Department for Exiting the European Union, with the support of other Government Departments, will continue to assess, negotiate and implement all relevant EU Directives and Regulations.