Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many body bags have been stockpiled for use in Wales as part of contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Department for Exiting the European Union does not record this type of information; this aspect of medical consumables provision is devolved to the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish all (a) documents, (b) minutes, (c) agendas and (d) reports written (i) by and (ii) for the Alternative Arrangements Working Group.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State’s meetings with MPs and others to explore alternative arrangements to the backstop form part of routine Ministerial meetings. The Department for Exiting the European Union will publish, on a quarterly basis, details of the Secretary of State’s external meetings in line with section 8.14 of the Ministerial Code.
Only Ministers can commission advice from civil servants, and the usual rules around the use and release of government papers will apply. The Government has not provided any papers to the group of MPs. Any documents produced by the MPs are a matter for them.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, at what time and on what date his Department shared the finished White Paper, The Future Relationship with the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 12 July 2018, with the Welsh Government.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK Government White Paper on the future relationship between the UK and the EU was shared with the Welsh Government in the morning of 12 July - the day of publication.
I also spoke with the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Prof. Mark Drakeford AM, first thing in the morning, before the official publication, to talk through the White Paper. We had a positive discussion on its content.
Certain elements of the White Paper were shared with the devolved administrations in advance of publication, as referenced in PQ 163536.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which sections of the White Paper, The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 12 July 2018, his Department shared with the Welsh Government before 12 July 2018.
Answered by Robin Walker
There has been extensive engagement with the Welsh Government on a variety of key policy areas that relate to the White Paper.
The content of the White Paper was discussed at a number of meetings, including the Joint Ministerial Committee for EU Negotiations and the Ministerial Forum on EU Negotiations. Discussions covered a range of areas of the draft White Paper, including the Future Economic Partnership and the Future Security Partnership.
Four draft sections of the White Paper were shared with the Welsh Government in advance of publication for their comment. These were:
Fishing Opportunities
Science and Innovation
International Action and Development
Civil Judicial Cooperation
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the Welsh economy.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government is committed to negotiating the best possible deal for the entire United Kingdom - a deal that works for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and all parts of England. We have been clear from the start that the devolved administrations should be fully engaged in this process and we have been engaging with the Welsh Government both bilaterally and in formal multilateral structures such as the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations. On 6 November I joined the Secretary of State for Wales in giving evidence to a joint session of two National Assembly for Wales committees on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and its implications for Wales. As part of the same trip we also met with the EU expert advisory group made up of stakeholders from different sectors of the economy.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department has produced an impact assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the Welsh economy.
Answered by Steve Baker
The Government is committed to the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and all parts of England. We have been engaging with the Welsh Government and have been clear from the start that the devolved administrations should be fully engaged.
As part of our work preparing to make a success of our departure from the European Union we are carrying out a full suite of analysis as you would expect a responsible Government to do. This includes a broad range of sectoral analyses covering the entirety of the UK economy, including Wales.
This analysis is not in the form of 58 separate sectoral impact assessments. Instead, the sectoral analyses are a wide mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis contained in a range of documents developed at different times since the referendum.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when the Joint Ministerial Committee (EU Negotiations) will next meet.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear from the start that the devolved administrations should be fully engaged in our preparations to leave the EU. The Secretary of State has had a number of bilateral discussions with the Scottish and Welsh Governments as we have moved into the negotiation phase and we are committed to positive and productive engagement going forward. In the absence of an Executive, we have also engaged at an official level with the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
Over the summer, we anticipate there will be regular and sustained bilateral discussions with officials from the devolved administrations, reporting back to Ministers at regular intervals to ensure sufficient progress is being made. There is also a place for multilateral meetings, and we will take that forward as and when it is appropriate.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if the Government will publish its letter to trigger Article 50 for public scrutiny after it has been issued to the European Commission.
Answered by Robin Walker
When we trigger Article 50, it will need to be done through a communication to the European Council.
The Government will continue to be as open and transparent as possible, as long as this does not undermine the UK's negotiating position.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether it is the Government's policy that all powers not explicitly reserved to Westminster under the devolution settlements will be directly transferred to the devolved administrations after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK Government is absolutely committed to working with the Devolved Administrations as we prepare for our negotiations with the EU. This is exactly why we have set up a new Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations, which brings together constituent parts of the United Kingdom to develop a UK-wide approach to our negotiations and to discuss issues stemming from the negotiation process which may impact upon or have consequences for the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government or the Northern Ireland Executive. Where powers should best sit will be a matter for further consultation and discussion across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment the Government has made of the transitional support that would be required for exporting companies based in the UK for a future outside the (a) Single Market and (b) customs union.
Answered by Robin Walker
We want to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade and operate in the single market – and let European businesses do the same here.
We have been clear that we will pursue a solution that works for the unique circumstances of the UK. Ministers are considering the UK’s future customs and trading relations with the EU and work continues to analyse the options to ensure we have the best possible outcome for the UK.