Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of recent polls in respect of whether to hold a second referendum on EU membership.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government has been clear that it does not support a second referendum. The priority of the Government is to deliver on the result of the first referendum by trying to find a compromise deal that could command majority support in Parliament.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government plans to make it its policy not to leave the EU without a deal.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
It remains Government policy to leave the EU with a deal as soon as possible. We do not want to leave the EU without a deal and it is also clear that there is no Parliamentary majority for pursuing this outcome. However ‘no deal’ remains the legal default on 31 October and we continue to prepare for such a scenario.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he will take to ensure parliamentary scrutiny of any proposals on dynamic alignment on rights and protections with the EU.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We do not need to be part of the EU to have strong protections or high standards and the UK already goes beyond EU minimum standards in a number of areas. In addition, the government has made a commitment not to reduce the standards of workers’ rights from EU laws retained in UK law and will ensure that new legislation changing those laws will be assessed as to whether they uphold this commitment. Any future changes in relation to rights and protections will be subject to the appropriate parliamentary scrutiny – with Parliament and the electorate continuing to hold the Government to account.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he take steps to ensure that legal changes to the Northern Ireland backstop are a priority in the negotiations on the withdrawal agreement with the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that we are seeking legally binding changes to the backstop that are necessary to ensure the EU cannot hold the UK in it indefinitely. Both the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and the Attorney General have been discussing this objective with the EU.