Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Turmaine Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn]

I will gladly write to the hon. Gentleman to set out the veterans’ organisations that the Government, the Defence Secretary, the Minister for the Armed Forces and I have engaged with in drawing up those protections, and I have already indicated to the House the groups that we will continue to talk to as we take that work forward.

[Matt Turmaine (Watford) (Lab)]

5. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the recent UK-EU agreement on trade from Northern Ireland.

[The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)]

The Government’s new partnership with the European Union aims to deliver a broad range of economic benefits for Northern Ireland, including smoother flows of trade, protection for the UK’s internal market, reduced costs for businesses and benefits for firms that move agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

[Matt Turmaine]

Does the Secretary of State agree that aligning safety standards and cutting red tape—checks and paperwork—is precisely the kind of support for growth and trade that this Government promised to deliver for business when they were elected last year?

[Hilary Benn]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The partnership agreement reached with the EU back in May was widely welcomed in Northern Ireland, particularly by those in the agrifood sector, because as we take that forward and turn it into a full sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, it will bring enormous benefits to firms that are moving those products across the Irish sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.