Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have made for the UK to leave the EU in March 2019 in the event that the European Council or the European Parliament does not ratify any agreement reached between the UK and the European Commission concerning the UK’s departure from the EU.

A future partnership between the UK and EU is in the interests of both sides, and we have entered into the negotiations anticipating success. However, since the result of the referendum, we have taken the responsible approach to work at pace to build a detailed understanding of how withdrawing from the EU will affect policies and services for a range of outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached.

Given the long lead-in times to implement some of our contingency measures, we need to begin now for them to remain viable. But implementing the first stages of contingency plans now should not be interpreted as an expectation that talks with the EU will not be successful, and we are clear that securing a good deal for both sides is by far and away the highest probability, but we have a duty to plan for the alternative. These are the actions of a responsible government determined to ensure a smooth exit under any eventuality.