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 9 November 2017 to Question 110920, what the reasons are for the Government's publication of its economic assessment of a no deal scenario potentially undermining the UK's negotiating position.

As the Government has already made clear, we are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work that will contribute to our exit negotiations, help to define our future partnership with the EU, and inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.

We have been clear that we recognise that Parliament has rights relating to the publication of documents. However, ministers also face conflicting responsibilities - such as a clear obligation not to disclose information when doing so would not be in the public interest. Anything that evaluates the impact of no deal or anything that evaluates the impact of alternative negotiation outcomes/options is negotiation sensitive and therefore will not be published.