Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many consultants his Department has hired since 2016; and at what cost to the taxpayer.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department uses consultancy services to source flexible labour to support short term projects that demand specialist knowledge and skills. From the Department’s formation on 14th July 2016 to date, it has incurred direct costs of £7.9m on consultancy services. Consultancy costs for the current financial year (2018-19) will be disclosed in full in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.
The Department does not hold information on the number of consultants hired.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many consultations by his Department (a) are open, (b) are closed awaiting a Government response and (c) have been initiated since 2016.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
All public government consultations are uploaded onto GOV.UK where people can filter consultations by criteria, including department, official document status and date of publication.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to ensure UK notified bodies can continue to provide EU certification services in the UK and elsewhere after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Steve Baker
We want a deep and special partnership with the EU which allows the freest and most frictionless possible trade in goods. As part of this partnership, we want to ensure that UK companies have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets, including with respect to the activity carried out by UK notified bodies.
We are working closely with colleagues across government to make sure that we have a regular dialogue with UK notified bodies, and the businesses for whom they provide services, as we develop our negotiating position.
In relation to the content of those discussions, we will not reveal now anything which might risk harming our negotiating position.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
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 the effect on the personal protective equipment market of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Steve Baker
We are working closely with colleagues across government and industry to understand the implications of the UK leaving the EU on manufacturers of personal protective equipment.
We want to achieve the freest possible trading relationship with our European neighbours. We want to ensure that UK companies, including personal protective equipment manufacturers, have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets, and to let European businesses do the same in the UK.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment his Department has made of the economic effect of establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
As set out in the Prime Minister's Article 50 letter we want to avoid a return to a hard border between our two countries, and to be able to maintain the Common Travel Area. The deeply integrated nature of trade, both domestically between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and across the land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, highlights why the UK is prioritising finding a solution that protects businesses’ ability to access these markets. We welcome the Commission's position paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland, in particular the commitment to avoid any physical infrastructure at the border, agreeing with the UK’s position as published last month. This is an important step forward, and demonstrates the close alignment on the UK’s and EU’s objectives on this issue.