Canada-UK Trade Deal

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Excerpts

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

The right reverend Prelate makes a good point. I assure him that these matters are at the front of our mind. Uncertainty is being progressively eliminated. I am looking forward to the time when there is no uncertainty whatever.

[Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab)]

Following my noble friend Lord Stevenson’s question, why, if the Minister says we have no bandwidth issues, will all future continuity agreements fall outside the full, proper CRaG procedure and be dealt with through a partial cover? This will eliminate a lot of the parliamentary scrutiny we talked about in the Trade Bill.

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

My Lords, I can confirm that every single agreement will go through the comprehensive CRaG procedure. There may be issues of timing because these negotiations often go to the wire. But I assure the House that, even if they need to be provisionally implemented, every single agreement will be subject to appropriate parliamentary scrutiny.