Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government has plans to include provisions on the framework for the future relationship with the European Union in the proposals for an EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

No. The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will only implement the Withdrawal Agreement. However the Bill will only be introduced following Parliament’s approval of the final deal covering both the withdrawal arrangements and the framework for the future relationship.

As the Prime Minister made clear in her Florence speech last year, the EU is not “legally able to conclude an agreement with the UK as an external partner while it is itself still part of the European Union”. Therefore, the Government will introduce further separate legislation where it is needed to implement the future relationship into UK law, ensuring Parliament is fully involved.