Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions officials from his Department have had with (a) the Department for International Trade and (b) the Ministry of Defence on (i) access to and (ii) influence in collaborative defence and security programmes run by the EU.

The Prime Minister is clear that we will continue to work with our European partners on defence and security policy. European leaders have welcomed this commitment. This is the right approach: working closely on defence and security with our closest geographical partners makes our citizens safer. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on this issue.