Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the progress in implementing the commitments set out in the Joint Report agreed between the EU and the UK in December 2017.

The Government’s July Command Paper set out the Joint Report’s influence on the negotiation framework of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, specifically its flawed contribution to the ‘Northern Ireland Backstop’, an agreement which Parliament subsequently refused to approve.

The foundation of our approach is the protection of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and the need for a new balance in the arrangements covering the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol to ensure they are sustainable and have support from all communities. We continue to engage in regular technical talks with the EU about implementation of this Protocol, as well as all other aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement.