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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of the (a) UK and (b) North East of the UK leaving the EU and businesses being unable to access the Digital Single Market.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not made such an assessment. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has said, the negotiation with the European Union will begin under a new Prime Minister, who will take the decision about when to trigger article 50 and start the formal and legal process of leaving the European Union. We will work closely with the new Prime Minister to set out the priorities for these negotiations.