Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had on negotiation approaches with his EU counterparts in preparation for the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organisation of 24 to 28 October 2016.

Preparation for the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is led on my behalf by the UK Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (PRIMO), who is supported by other officials within the Department. The PRIMO has engaged in discussions on negotiation approaches with EU counterparts and the European Commission at a coordination meeting in Brussels on 13 October 2016; and in the margins at MEPC.

My officials also routinely engage at policy level with EU counterparts.