Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the the protection of the National Health Service from future trade deals.

HM Government has been clear that the NHS will remain free at the point of need.

When HM Government is negotiating trade agreements, we have been clear that the NHS will not be on the table. The price the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table. The services the NHS provides will not be on the table. The NHS is not, and never will be, for sale to the private sector, whether overseas or at home.

The Department for International Trade works closely with a number of Departments as part of the policy-making process, including the Department for Health and Social Care, to make sure that these rigorous protections are included. Our position was reaffirmed in our negotiating objectives for a Free Trade Agreement with the United States of America, published on 2^nd March 2020.