Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason he is not a member of the Government's European Union Exit and Trade Committee.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is not a member of the Government’s European Union Exit and Trade Committee as under article 168, section 7, of the Lisbon Treaty, health is a member state competence, so he does not need to attend every session. He is invited every time a matter directly affecting health comes up.

The list of Cabinet Committees and Implementation Taskforces, and their membership, is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees

Other Ministers attend the European Union Exit and Trade Committee where the agenda item concerns their portfolio.