Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what progress the Government is making on negotiating alternatives to the Northern Ireland backstop in the draft EU Withdrawal Agreement.

The European Council has been clear that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened.

However, in the light of engagement with the working group of which colleagues were a part, the Prime Minister has secured a legally binding commitment that both sides will aim to replace the backstop with alternative arrangements by December 2020.

A specific negotiating track will be established to take that work forward at pace in the next phase. The Government will make available £20m of funding to support the development, testing or piloting of ideas that emerge, where the Government believes it would be helpful.