Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the NHS is specifically protected from privatisation in any international trade deals.

The Government is clear – the NHS is and always will be protected in trade deals. There is nothing in any trade deal which would require the UK to privatise public services. The UK will ensure that trade deals continue to include the necessary exclusions, exemptions, and ‘reservations’ to ensure that decisions on how to run public services – including the NHS – will always remain for the UK Government and not trade partners or corporations.