Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the political agreement reached with the EU on 26 November 2018 still holds.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK and EU have agreed a Withdrawal Agreement that will ensure our smooth and orderly departure on 29 March; and, tied to this agreement, a Political Declaration on an ambitious future partnership that is in our national interest. Both the documents are subject to agreement and ratification by Parliament.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what cost his Department has incurred to the public purse by providing public information on the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department is tasked with successfully delivering the UK’s exit from the European Union. A key element of this is providing the public with information on all possible scenarios, including leaving the EU without a deal.
It is not however possible to attribute the Department’s costs to specific scenario planning such as no deal. This is because the Department does not record expenditure against potential outcomes; it records expenditure on a functional basis.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether children resident in the EU will be able to travel to the UK on identity cards in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are considering a number of options in the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without a deal. The Home Office will set out further information in due course.
As the Immigration Minister has said, we do not intend to require visas from EU citizens in a no deal scenario and we welcome the commitment from the EU Commission that subject to reciprocity they will do the same for UK nationals entering the EU.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October to Written Question 179070 on Trade Agreements, if he will publish the international treaties listed under the EU Treaties Office Database that (a) have been superseded, (b) are redundant and (c) are no longer relevant for the UK.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We are committed to maintaining the relationships and cooperation we currently enjoy with third countries and international organisations as we exit the EU. We are seeking to replicate the effects of our international treaties, as far as possible and where relevant, and we are engaging closely with third parties to deliver continuity as we leave the EU.
In relation to those international agreements listed under the EU Treaties Office database that have been superseded, are redundant, or no longer relevant to the UK, we have a responsibility not to release information that could hinder our discussions with partner countries. We will continue to keep Parliament updated on the progress of transitioning our treaties in preparation for our exit from the EU.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many citizens of non-UK EU countries work in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Based on the self-declaration rates held on our system at the time of this question, the number of staff in the Department for Exiting the European Union of non - UK EU countries, is fewer than 10. This figure is based entirely on people identifying themselves as an EU national on the Department’s HR system.
The Department has no agencies or non-departmental public bodies.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October to Written Question 180067 on Department for Exiting the European Union: Contracts, whether his Department has used gagging clauses in contracts signed with any (a) commercial organisations or (b) individuals with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Government departments make use of non-disclosure agreements when structuring engagements with business on preparations for leaving the EU. They are a common component of contractual arrangements that are used to protect commercial considerations of the parties involved or to protect sensitives around the development of Government policy.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October to Question 179064 on Brexit, whether the Government has made an assessment of the steps required to extend the transition period in the event that the arrangements for a future partnership between the UK and the EU are not in place.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In the Joint Report of December 2017, the EU and UK agreed the need for provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement preventing a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. As the Prime Minister said during her Statement to the House on 22nd October 2018, we do not want to extend the implementation period, nor do we believe that extending it will be necessary. We are working at pace to ensure that the necessary arrangements for our future partnership are in place for 31 December 2020.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October to Question 175802 on Brexit, whether the Government has held any discussions with EU member states on the potential extension of Article 50.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government’s policy remains that Article 50 will not be extended. We will be leaving the EU on 29 March 2019 and are negotiating to that timeline. We are confident of reaching a deal which is in the best interests of both the UK and the EU.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to Eurostat, whether (a) the general public will lose access and (b) whether the UK Government will lose the ability to contribute when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
After exit, the general public will be able to access all published data from Eurostat as normal. Under the terms of the draft Withdrawal Agreement the UK Government will continue to work closely with and contribute data to Eurostat during the implementation period.
The nature of the statistical relationship we have with the EU beyond the implementation period will be decided as part of the future relationship negotiations.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment the Government made of the ability under existing legislation to extend any transition period beyond December 2020 while negotiating a new trading relationship with the EU; and whether such a period would need to be covered under a separate treaty with the EU.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We are working at pace to ensure that the necessary arrangements for our future partnership are in place for 31 December 2020.