Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

The role of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is to ensure the smooth working of the political settlement in Northern Ireland. It represents Northern Ireland interests within the UK Government and represents the UK government interests and policy in Northern Ireland.

Accordingly, responsibility for relevant policies including border, customs and immigration is held by other Whitehall Government Departments and the Northern Ireland Executive rather than by NIO. My officials however are working with officials across government, in close coordination with the Department for Exiting the European Union, to ensure that appropriate preparations have been made and plans are in place for all scenarios.

The UK Government is determined to make a success of Exit for the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland.