Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the National Police Chiefs' Council's Brexit contingency planning team on the potential loss of tools and capability available to police forces in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

The Home Office is working closely with a range of operational partners, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), on policing and security cooperation between the UK and the EU in the context of EU Exit.

Our preferred scenario is a new legally binding agreement between the UK and the EU on internal security. However, as a responsible Government, we are preparing – on a contingent basis – for a no deal scenario in which we would move co-operation to alternative, non-EU mechanisms.

We are working closely with the NPCC on these joint preparations, and under ‘Operation Safety Net’, the NPCC is establishing a new national unit called the International Crime Co-ordination Centre. Regular engagement is on-going at operational, official and senior official levels.