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Written Question
EU Action: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Monday 9th March 2020

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each government department, from 1 July 2019 to 31 January 2020, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and for how many documents such an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.

Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and is no longer part of the EU’s decision making machinery so no further scrutiny overrides will require to be reported to Parliament.

Between July 2019 to January 2020, 348 Explanatory Memoranda on EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny.

Scrutiny during this period was interrupted by the dissolution of parliament. There were 54 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before parliamentary scrutiny procedures had been completed.

Historically, the largest category of instruments on which overrides have occurred have been fast-moving and sensitive Common Foreign and Security Policy measures including EU restrictive (sanctions) measures and during this period there were 40 occasions when such instruments were adopted before scrutiny could be completed.

The figures requested are set out below:

Department

House of Lords override

House Commons override

No. of overrides in both Houses at same time

Total no. of overrides

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

3

2

2

3

Defence

1

1

1

1

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

1

5

1

5

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

34

39

33

40

HM Treasury

3

3

3

3

International Development

1

1

1

1

International Trade

1

1

1

1

Totals

44

52

42

54


Written Question
Lugano Convention
Thursday 1st November 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) Switzerland, (2) Norway, and (3) Iceland concerning the UK's accession to the Lugano Convention after Brexit.

Answered by Lord Keen of Elie

We have made clear our intention to continue the UK’s participation in the Lugano Convention after our exit from the EU, in order to maintain our existing civil judicial cooperation with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. We expect our continued participation in this Convention to form part of the wider agreement on civil judicial cooperation we will reach with the EU.

Throughout our Exit discussions, the EU has been clear that the UK’s continued participation in the Lugano Convention is a ‘future state’ issue, which can only be negotiated once we have concluded the Withdrawal Agreement. We remain confident of reaching agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement which will secure our continued participation in the Convention to the end of the Implementation Period. This will provide time until the end of 2020 to enable the UK, the EU and all the other parties to the convention to come to an agreement on a legally secure permanent transition for the UK.

We have met with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway to make clear our desire to continue to participate in the Lugano Convention once we have left the EU.


Written Question
Lugano Convention
Thursday 1st November 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the White Paper, The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published 12 September, what steps they have taken to accede to the Lugano Convention.

Answered by Lord Keen of Elie

We have made clear our intention to continue the UK’s participation in the Lugano Convention after our exit from the EU, in order to maintain our existing civil judicial cooperation with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. We expect our continued participation in this Convention to form part of the wider agreement on civil judicial cooperation we will reach with the EU.

Throughout our Exit discussions, the EU has been clear that the UK’s continued participation in the Lugano Convention is a ‘future state’ issue, which can only be negotiated once we have concluded the Withdrawal Agreement. We remain confident of reaching agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement which will secure our continued participation in the Convention to the end of the Implementation Period. This will provide time until the end of 2020 to enable the UK, the EU and all the other parties to the convention to come to an agreement on a legally secure permanent transition for the UK.

We have met with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway to make clear our desire to continue to participate in the Lugano Convention once we have left the EU.


Written Question
UK Notified Bodies
Wednesday 20th June 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK Notified Bodies will be able to continue to work with UK manufacturers, checking their products conform to the essential requirements of European directives which have also been transposed into UK law, until the end of the anticipated Brexit implementation period.

Answered by Lord Henley

The Government recognises the valuable work undertaken by UK Notified Bodies in ensuring that products placed on the market have been through suitable assessment to ensure they comply with the relevant requirements.

During the implementation period the UK will no longer be a Member State of the European Union, but market access will continue on current terms.

For UK Notified Bodies this means that they will continue to be able to conduct third-party conformity assessments for both the UK and the EU markets as they do now.


Written Question
Whisky: Exports
Wednesday 23rd May 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether new tariffs would be payable during the transition period on Scotch whisky exports to all markets where EU trade agreements are currently in force.

Answered by Baroness Fairhead

The agreement reached between the EU and the UK on the terms of the Implementation Period sets out that the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements during the Implementation Period.

Therefore, the Implementation Period gives businesses certainty that common rules will remain in place until December 2020, meaning Scotch Whisky exporters will continue to trade on the same terms, including applying the same tariffs as now.


Written Question
Public Sector: Procurement
Thursday 8th February 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the EU Commission Notice issued on 10 January stating that EU public procurement rules will cease to apply to the UK from 30 March 2019.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

The December guidelines published by the European Council point to the shared desire of the EU and the UK to make rapid progress on an implementation period, with formal talks beginning very soon. We have been clear that this should be based on the existing structure of EU rules and regulations, during which the UK and the EU would continue to have access to one another’s markets on current terms.


Written Question
Brexit
Monday 5th February 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of their Brexit negotiating strategy, they intend UK products to be treated, during the transition period, as EU content for the purposes of (1) EU regulatory structures, and (2) trade agreements held by the EU with other countries.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The EU and UK have both said that EU rules and regulations should continue to apply during the implementation period.

During this strictly time-limited implementation period, the UK and the EU would continue to have access to one another’s markets on current terms, and the UK would take part in existing security measures.

In the Implementation Period, the UK will take steps to pave the way for the UK’s independent trade policy after we exit. As such, we will be able to negotiate our own free trade agreements, although we would not bring them into effect until after the implementation period has concluded.

The government is committed to seeking continuity during the Implementation Period in its current trade and investment relationships, including those covered by EU Free Trade Agreements or other EU preferential arrangements.


Written Question
UK Trade with EU
Monday 5th February 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of their Brexit negotiating strategy, they are seeking to ensure that during the transition period following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU all current trading terms will continue to apply for UK business trading with the EU27; and whether they intend to offer such reciprocal obligations on the UK as would be required to enable this to happen.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We have proposed an implementation period, based on the existing structure of EU rules and regulations. During this period the UK’s and the EU’s access to each other’s markets will continue on current terms. It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to agree the terms of this period as quickly as possible, in order to provide vital certainty to businesses and citizens. We are confident that there is broad agreement between the UK and EU positions on the implementation period, and that we will come to an agreement by March.


Written Question
Industrial Products
Friday 2nd February 2018

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to convene a meeting with representatives from the industrial product supply sector to address concerns relating to uncertainty over the proposed transition period after the UK leaves the EU, in particular (1) how long that transition period will last, and (2) the parameters of rights and regulations that will apply during that period.

Answered by Lord Henley

In the last year Ministers and officials have met over 2000 stakeholder organisations, including over 600 businesses at a series of stakeholder events. After the last General Election, we set up a business advisory group with an EU Exit focus that’s attended by senior Government ministers, to give higher priority to companies’ concerns in the EU exit negotiations. We want to agree the terms of a time-limited implementation period as soon as possible - giving businesses across the UK certainty.


Written Question
Insurance Companies: Greater London
Tuesday 1st November 2016

Asked by: Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of the potential loss of EU passporting rights on the international insurance and reinsurance companies operating in London, following the UK's departure from the EU.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

The Government is committed to getting the best possible deal for the UK financial services sector following the UK's departure from the EU.

The insurance sector is diverse and the Government recognises that many firms are focused on domestic markets only. However, the Government understands that EU market access is important to the London Market, a leading global centre of expertise for specialist and commercial insurance, which provides valuable services to businesses in the EU and internationally.

The Government has already engaged with international insurance and reinsurance companies and other key stakeholders in the insurance sector, and will continue to do so over the coming weeks and months. We are carefully analysing the impacts that withdrawal from the EU will have on their businesses, consumers and on other related economic activities. We will listen to concerns, aim to limit uncertainty in the transition and ensure our new relationship with the EU works for such businesses.