Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to chapter 1 paragraph 76(a) of the White Paper, The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, Cm9593, what the Government's definition is of talented people.

The Government’s White Paper on the Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is clear that free movement of people, as defined in European law, will end as the UK leaves the EU. The UK’s future immigration arrangements will set out how those from the EU and elsewhere can apply to come and work in the UK. The UK will want to continue to attract the brightest and the best, to support our public services and enhance the UK’s attractiveness for research, development and innovation. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report, due in September 2018, will provide important evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy to inform this.

The UK will also make a sovereign choice in a defined number of areas to seek reciprocal mobility arrangements with the EU, building on current World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments. Trade agreements that exist globally covering trade in services include provisions on the mobility of people for the provision of services (known as ‘Mode 4’ commitments). These provisions enable businesses to provide services and to move their talented people, for example as an intra-corporate transfer. The exact scope and definition of such provisions in any future agreement between the UK and EU will be a matter for negotiation.