Asked by: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK approved bodies will only be able to provide third party conformity assessment, where required, for products placed on the UK market; and whether equivalent EU notified bodies will be able to provide such assessment for products placed on both the UK and EU markets via CE marking.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
After exit day, the Government is setting up a new UK regulatory regime. We recognise the valuable contribution UK Notified Bodies make to the economy, which is why notified bodies operating under the new regulatory regime will automatically become UK approved bodies. UK approved bodies will only be able to provide conformity assessment for the UK market and for countries with which we have signed a relevant mutual recognition agreement. We meet regularly with the sector to discuss the impact of Brexit and how they can prepare.
To help ensure the flow of goods into the UK, CE marked goods can be placed on the UK market for a time-limited period after exit day if we leave the EU without a withdrawal agreement. The results of conformity assessment carried out by EU notified bodies will be valid in the UK during this time-limited period. This will help UK manufacturers who sell to both the EU and UK markets.
Asked by: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, will be the duration of the time-limited arrangement for the acceptance in the UK of CE marking and hence third party EU notified body conformity assessment.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The duration of the time-limited period during which we will continue to accept CE marking and EU conformity assessment has not yet been set. The Government has committed to engaging with industry before making a decision on this.
Asked by: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) in the event of a no-deal Brexit, manufacturers, authorised representatives and importers based in the UK will be responsible for the conformity to standards of products placed on the UK market where required, and (2) authorised representatives and importers based in an European Economic Area state will be responsible for the conformity to standards of products placed on the EU or UK markets.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, authorised representatives based in the EEA appointed and mandated before Exit may continue to be authorised representatives for BEIS consumer product safety and metrology purposes, as long as they remain so appointed and mandated by the manufacturer. Any authorised representatives appointed and mandated after Exit must be established in the UK.
An importer will be the person established in the UK who places a product from outside of the UK on the UK market.
Asked by: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when, and where, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, public access to the list of UK approved bodies for conformity assessment, and particulars of standards harmonised to EU directives, will be made available.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, on exit all ‘harmonised standards’ that gave a presumption of conformity to EU requirements will be cited as ‘designated standards’ and will give rise to a presumption of conformity to the relevant requirements in the UK body of retained EU law, as amended. Details of all ‘designated’ standards will be provided on the gov.uk website.
A register of UK approved bodies and the conformity assessment activities for which they have been approved will be made available via the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which Government ministers have visited the Palestinian Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem, in the last two years on (1) private, and (2) official visits; and when they did so.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep records of Government ministers' private visits to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The following ministers have made official visits to the OPTs in the last two years:
Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood, 16-18 February 2016; Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock, 17 February 2016; Minister of State at the Home Office Baroness Williams of Trafford, 1 June 2016; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Trade Mark Garnier, 21 September 2016; Minister of State for Digital Matt Hancock, 19 December 2016; Secretary of State or Foreign Affairs Boris Johnson, 8 March 2017; Minister of State for International Development Rory Stewart, 18-19 March 2017; and Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt, 20-22 August 2017.
Asked by: Lord Cope of Berkeley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which Government ministers have visited Israel in the last two years on (1) private, and (2) official visits; and when they did so.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep records of Government ministers' private visits to Israel. The following ministers have made official visits to Israel in the last two years:
Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood, 17-18 February 2016; Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock, 15-17 February 2016; Minister of State at the Home Office Baroness Williams of Trafford, 2-3 June 2016; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Trade Mark Garnier, 20–22 September 2016; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Boris Johnson, 29-30 September 2016; Minister of State for Digital Matt Hancock, 18 December, and 20–21 December 2016; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Boris Johnson, 7–8 March 2017; Minister of State for International Development Rory Stewart, 19 March 2017; Minister of State for Trade Policy Lord Price CVO, 28–30 March 2017; and Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt, 22-23 August 2017.