Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October to Written Question 180067 on Department for Exiting the European Union: Contracts, whether his Department has used gagging clauses in contracts signed with any (a) commercial organisations or (b) individuals with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

Government departments make use of non-disclosure agreements when structuring engagements with business on preparations for leaving the EU. They are a common component of contractual arrangements that are used to protect commercial considerations of the parties involved or to protect sensitives around the development of Government policy.