Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of any differences in the definition of serious crime would have on (a) criminal justice and (b) police cooperation between the EU and the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government has made a strong case for an ambitious and mutually beneficial future partnership with the EU that covers: mechanisms for rapid and secure data exchange, practical measures to support cross-border operational cooperation, and continued UK cooperation with EU law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

Negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU in the area of criminal justice and law enforcement cooperation is ongoing so we cannot pre-judge the outcome, but at this stage there is no reason to expect that differences in the definition of serious crime will be an issue.