Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the differential impact of (1) leaving the EU without a deal, and (2) staying in the EU, over the next 10 years.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The 2016 referendum delivered a clear instruction to withdraw from the European Union, which the Government is committed to implementing. The Government remains focused on ensuring a smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal as soon as possible.
In November 2018, the Government delivered on its commitment to provide appropriate analysis to Parliament with a robust, objective assessment of how exiting the EU may affect the economy of the UK in the long run (circa 15 years). The analysis considers a range of scenarios, including a no deal scenario. All scenarios are compared to today’s arrangements, but this is not a specific projection of future membership of the EU; the future direction of EU policy is uncertain, and could have both positive and negative impacts on the UK economy. Whilst all economic modelling is inherently uncertain, the analysis shows that compared to today’s arrangements, GDP in the modelled no deal scenario is estimated to be between 6.3% and 9% lower in the long run.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Additional EU Exit funding, allocated by HM Treasury to departments and the Devolved Administrations, covers all scenarios. ‘No deal’ spending cannot readily be separated from ‘deal’ spending given significant overlap in plans in many cases. HM Treasury has since 2016 allocated over £4.2 billion of funding, for all exit scenarios.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of nationals of other EU states who will leave the UK between now and the end of the Brexit transition period; and what are the principal skills categories expected to be affected by their departure, if any.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU. Their independent advice will inform our decisions about future immigration arrangements.
Additionally, the Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. Our overall programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and is continuously updated. The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they define the phrase “regulatory alignment”.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister, during her speech in Florence, set out the Government's approach to regulatory alignment. In our negotiations with the EU, the UK starts from a unique position in that we have the same rules and regulations.
The question for the UK in building a new economic partnership with the EU is therefore not how we bring our rules and regulations closer together, but what we do when one of us wants to make changes.
There will be areas where regulation is outside the scope of our trade and economic relations or where we want to achieve the same goals in the same ways. But there will be areas which do affect our economic relations where we and our European partners may have different goals; or where we share the same goals but want to achieve them through different means. Our task is to find a new framework that allows for a close economic partnership but holds these rights and obligations in a new and different balance.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contacts each Government department has had with the Legatum Institute over the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials from the Department for Exiting the European Union are speaking with stakeholders from a variety of sectors, to understand their concerns and priorities regarding our exit from the EU. As part of this process, the Department has engaged with a range of domestic and EU-facing think tanks.
These organisations have contributed to the dialogue around our EU withdrawal with a range of insights and opinions on proposed future arrangements, as well as on areas of impact for stakeholders across industry and society.
Details of ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.