Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 25 November (HL3505), whether they will provide a figure in their answer of how much money the UK has paid the EU since its departure; and for what purposes that money was paid.

The financial settlement under the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020 (WA) represents the negotiated agreement over the UK’s financial commitments to the EU and those of the European Union (EU) to the UK. This financial arrangement is related to the UK’s past obligations as a departing Member State and does not relate to any future arrangements.

As published in the European Union Finances Statement 2021, the net UK payments under the WA were c.£11bn (€13.4bn) by 31 December 2021. The publication notes that the UK received an invoice of c.£2.9bn (€3.4bn) in April 2022 which has been paid in full. Since the publication of this document, the UK has received the next regular invoice under the WA for c.£5.5bn (€6.4bn) which is paid in monthly instalments until May 2023.

The payments made to the EU in 2022 under the WA will be outlined in more detail in the next edition of the European Union Finances Statement 2022 which is planned to be published in 2023. The latest publication with additional information about the underlying liabilities under WA can be found on gov.uk.