Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 potential merits of maintaining the provisions of the Lawyer Services Directive after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and ensure a functioning statute book on the day we leave the EU. This Great Repeal Bill will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK.
The Bill will preserve EU-derived legislation, including applicable European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law where appropriate, as it applies in the UK on exit day.
The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the options are for the form in which the document containing the Government's plan for the UK leaving the EU will be published before Article 50 is triggered.
Answered by Robin Walker
We will set out our broad plans to Parliament and the public for scrutiny before triggering Article 50 by the end of next March, repeating the proviso as agreed by the House on 12 October 2016, without division, confirmed on the 7th December, that nothing we do or say should undermine the UK's negotiating position.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the potential effect on European structural funding for each region of the UK of the UK leaving the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring regions and organisations have stability and certainty in the period leading up to our departure from the European Union. At the same time, we are keen to use the opportunities that departure presents to set our own priorities. The Chancellor has announced that the Treasury will guarantee structural and investment fund bids which are signed before the UK leaves the EU. This includes funding for projects agreed after the Autumn Statement, if they represent good value for money, and if they are in line with the government’s strategic priorities, even if these projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.
Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. Over the coming months, the government will consult closely with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate certainty.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has made an assessment of the possibility of making exclusions to Rules of Origin regulations in any future free trade deal between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The question presupposes the nature of our future relationship with the EU, on which a decision has not yet been taken. As the Prime Minister has said: we want British companies to have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the Single Market – and to let European businesses do the same here. We are not seeking to replicate any other model: we want a bespoke approach, which works for the UK.
Of course, we understand the importance of preferential rules of origin in the context of a Free Trade Agreement, but we are analysing all of the different options that are available to us.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the City of London financial sector since his Department was created.
Answered by Robin Walker
Ministers and Officials from across the Government are working with a variety of stakeholders from all sectors, including the financial services sector. Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.