Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to support small businesses that export time-sensitive perishable goods (a) before and (b) after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government is committed to the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for small businesses. We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) , in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.

Furthermore, our future partnership paper Future customs arrangements published in August 2017 sets out our aspirations for the UK’s future customs arrangements. The paper set out key customs issues that form part of the UK Government’s approach to the new partnership with the EU. This reflects the deep engagement the Government has sought from external parties with expertise on each policy area, and draws on the very extensive work undertaken across Government since last year’s referendum.

As we have said before, we recognise that businesses and people will need time to adjust, and to allow new systems to be put in place. That’s why we are proposing a strictly time-limited implementation period, based on the existing structure of EU rules and regulations, during which the UK and the EU would continue to have access to one another’s markets on current terms.

The UK government believes it is in the interests of both parties to achieve the best possible outcome and the strongest possible partnership for the future - one that works for the UK and for the EU.