Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 28171, what rules will apply to use of the reading room for hon. Members for classified documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; whether access will be limited to Members of both Houses; and when he plans to write to hon. Members to confirm how they can access and use those documents.

The next round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will take place in July. The UK reading room will be open in time to access documents related to this round and will be accessible to Members of both Houses and Whitehall officials.

Parliamentarians and officials will be required to respect EU rules governing the protection of classified TTIP documents made available in the reading room, which in practice means not sharing them or their contents with anyone who is not entitled to access the room.