Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Windsor Framework permits the EU to withdraw green lane flexibilities in the event of regulatory divergence between the EU and the UK.

The new arrangements in this agreement set out concrete legal changes to remove red tape and checks for internal UK trade, as well as legally binding, permanent solutions to a wide range of practical problems raised by citizens, businesses and politicians in Northern Ireland.

To secure the smooth flow of internal UK trade, we have inserted new text into Article 6(2) of the Protocol to lock in a commitment by both sides to establish and maintain specific arrangements for internal UK trade - which is subject to arbitration, rather than the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.