Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 57 of The Windsor Framework: a new way forward, CP806, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the Windsor Framework narrows the range of EU rules applicable in Northern Ireland to less than 3 per cent overall; and if he will publish a list of those rules.

The old Protocol already stripped EU rules from a series of key areas: with the full freedom to regulate for the services industries of the future; to control United Kingdom waters; to remain outside of the Common Agricultural Policy permanently; and to avoid alignment on social, broader environmental, consumer or competition law. The Windsor Framework goes further and disapplies a range of further EU rules on medicines, VAT and excise, the movement of goods and food and drink safety standards. By the EU's own calculations, that means less than 3 percent of EU rules now apply, with those that remain the bare minimum required to secure Northern Ireland's access to the EU market and avoid a hard border. The people of Northern Ireland, of course, retain the right to reject the application of those rules through next year's consent vote. Furthermore through the Stormont Brake we have ended the automatic presumption of any dynamic alignment for the future, putting democratic oversight and control at the heart of the Windsor Framework.