Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his oral contribution of 28 March 2017, Official Report column 117, and page 5 of his Department's consultation paper, Public consultation on the United Kingdom's future legal framework for imposing and implementing sanctions, published in April 2017, for what reasons the Government did not consult on how future UK sanctions policy will be aligned with that of the EU before publication of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill.

The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill ensures the UK will have the powers in place to continue to implement sanctions and anti-money laundering regimes after our withdrawal from the EU. This primary legislation will allow us to maintain close cooperation with a range of international partners. The Government has set out its vision for a strong Future Partnership with the EU on foreign and security policy including sanctions. This is subject to further discussion with the EU and we cannot prejudge the conclusion of those negotiations.