Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many pieces of (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation their Department has sponsored in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The number of pieces of both primary and secondary legislation sponsored by Government departments could be calculated utilising publicly available information at the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many and what proportion of the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by (i) their Department or (ii) their predecessor Department has undergone a post legislative review in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has not undertaken any post legislative reviews of primary legislation.
The number of post legislative reviews undertaken by DIT on secondary legislation is not held within the Department.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many post legislative reviews (a) their Department or (b) their predecessor Department has undertaken on (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation in each of the last five years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has not undertaken any post legislative reviews of primary legislation.
The number of post legislative reviews undertaken by DIT on secondary legislation is not held within the Department.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will ensure that the NHS is not included in a trade deal with the US Administration; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Conor Burns
As we leave the European Union, the UK will continue to ensure that public services – including the NHS – are protected in all trade agreements it is party to, whether transitioned from an EU context or as a result of new negotiations.
The Government has been consistently clear about its commitment to the guiding principles of the NHS – that it is universal and free at the point of need. Our position is definitive: the NHS is not, and never will be, for sale to the private sector, whether overseas or domestic. The Government will ensure no trade agreements will ever be able to alter these fundamental facts.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many free trade agreements to which the UK is a party through its EU membership will be rolled over in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 30 March 2019; and which countries those agreements will be with.
Answered by George Hollingbery
In the event of a ‘no deal’, the Government will seek to bring into force bilateral agreements from exit day (29 March 2019) or as soon as possible thereafter.
Ministers and officials are engaging regularly with partner countries to complete this work and are making good progress. For example, the Swiss Federal Council have approved the text of a UK-Swiss Free Trade Agreement that replicates the effects of the existing EU-Swiss arrangements as far as possible.
However, when we reach agreement will depend on the progress of these ongoing discussions. The Government will inform Parliament and the public when agreements are signed.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the UK has secured an agreement with Turkey to continue trading after 30 March 2019 on the same terms on which it currently trades with that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Government remains focused on ensuring continuity in our existing trading arrangements. We have committed to informing Parliament when agreements are signed with partner countries. Discussions with Turkey are ongoing. Achieving continuity with Turkey is particularly complex because it shares a customs union with the EU. If we don’t reach a deal with the EU, then reaching a deal with Turkey will be challenging. The Government wants our future customs arrangements with both the EU and Turkey to enable as friction-less trade as possible. The deal that the Government has agreed with the EU and has put before Parliament aims to achieve this.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he has met representatives of (a) SCL Group and (b) Cambridge Analytica.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has not met representatives of SCL Group or Cambridge Analytica.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies and public bodies have held contracts with (i) SCL Group and (ii) Cambridge Analytica.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade does not hold any contracts with SCL Group and Cambridge Analytica.
The Department for International Trade does not currently have any agencies and public bodies.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether free trade agreements agreed between the EU and (a) Turkey, (b) Switzerland, (c) South Korea, (d) South Africa, (e) Norway and (f) Iceland will allow the cumulation of EU and UK content during any transition period after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the Government has set out in both the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) White Paper – ‘Preparing for our future UK trade policy’ – and the recently published Trade Bill, the Department is engaging with all countries with which the European Union currently has free trade agreements with a view to replicating as far, as possible, the effects of existing agreements as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, including in any implementation period that might be agreed between the UK and the EU.
These discussions will include consideration of technical matters, such as rules of origin and cumulation.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with countries that the EU has trade deals with about the operation of free trade agreements after March 2019.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the Government has set out in both the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) White Paper – ‘Preparing for our future UK trade policy’ – and the recently published Trade Bill , DIT is engaging with all countries with which the European Union currently has free trade agreements, with a view to replicating as far as possible the effects of existing agreements as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.