Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he consulted with the Bank of England on plans to insert a provision on an exit date into the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
Answered by Robin Walker
No. The Government amendments to the Bill, which set exit day as 11pm on 29 March 2019, were intended to provide certainty and clarity, and ensure that domestic legislation reflected the position under international law, as set out in Article 50.
The Government has since accepted further amendments which give the Government the technical ability to amend this date at a later stage - though only if the European Council, including the UK, unanimously decides to change the date at which the Treaties cease to apply to the UK as set out in Article 50. There are no plans to use this mechanism. These amendments simply reflect the operation of Article 50, and therefore would not have required consultation with the Bank of England.
Ministers from across government have carried out extensive engagement on EU exit - with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK, including regulators, business representative organisations and financial institutions.