Exiting the EU: Sectoral Analysis

Hilary Benn Excerpts

Tuesday 7th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Baker]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend—he is exactly right. Our purpose as a nation is to go forward and maximise our negotiating capital to deliver the best possible deal for all people in the United Kingdom.

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

We now know what this material consists of, but I am concerned to read in a letter that the Secretary of State sent me that Ministers now intend

“to collate and bring together this information in a way that is accessible and informative for the Committee.”

I would expect the Committee to receive these documents in the form they were in when the motion was carried—in other words, unamended. As I made clear in my letter to the Secretary of State, I think it is for the Committee to decide in what form they are published. We are conscious of our responsibilities, in the same way as the whole House is. Can the Minister therefore confirm that that is what will now happen, and that there will be no further undue delay?

[Mr Baker]

The material that we hold includes commercially sensitive material and material that is relevant to our negotiating position. The House has previously voted not to release information that would be prejudicial to our negotiating position. If we were to give the right hon. Gentleman and the Committee the original reports commissioned at the beginning of the Department’s life, he would find that that material was incomplete and out of date. It is our intention to satisfy the motion by providing to him information that is relevant, timely and correct.