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Written Question
Parliament: Migrant Workers
Monday 23rd March 2020

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what support is available to support new House of Lords and bicameral staff to learn English.

Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith

The House of Lords Administration has partnered with the House of Commons to offer an English Language course to staff of both Houses and bicameral staff. The programme is provided by West London College and runs for 13 weeks, from 10 January 2020 to 3 April 2020. The Administration has marketed this course to staff in Property and Office and Catering & Retail Services where there is high representation of people for whom English is not their first language. Depending on evaluation of the course, it may run again in 2020.


Written Question
Brexit: Negotiations
Tuesday 8th October 2019

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the cost of the Brexit negotiations since the result of the EU referendum in 2016.

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

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.


Written Question
British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries
Tuesday 30th April 2019

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support any British citizen returning to live in the UK following the UK's departure from the EU.

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

The Government has always been clear and steadfast in our commitment to protecting citizens' rights. We have announced a series of measures to protect UK nationals in the EU and those who choose to return to the UK after exit.

This includes: access to NHS-funded healthcare, a transition period until March 2022 for UK nationals to return from the EU with their non-UK family members and for those family members to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and reassurance for UK nationals on their entitlement to UK benefits and services if they choose to return to the UK.

The measures aim to provide maximum certainty to UK nationals in both a deal and no deal scenario.


Written Question
Borders: Irish Sea
Friday 15th March 2019

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what physical arrangements would be necessary to provide a border between the EU and the UK in the Irish Sea.

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

The UK and the EU have been clear in the Political Declaration that we will seek to negotiate an ambitious economic partnership, including a free trade area for goods that facilitates trade through a new customs arrangement, deep regulatory cooperation, and avoids any tariffs or quotas.

The Declaration recognises that the application of checks and controls between the EU and the UK would depend on the UK’s commitments, including in relation to the level of alignment with EU rules. Obviously we will need to agree the balance as part of the future negotiations.

The Government has been clear, in all circumstances, we seek to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and we stand by all our commitments including the safeguarding of the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom.


Written Question
Customs
Tuesday 3rd July 2018

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to ensure smooth passage of freight and cars between Dublin and Holyhead in the event of a failure to reach an agreement on customs arrangements, as a result of leaving the customs union and the single market.

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

We want our future relationship with the EU to be a deep and special partnership. We are confident that this is very much in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. The Government does not want or expect a no deal outcome and the agreement on an implementation period makes such an outcome less likely.

However, a responsible Government should prepare for all potential outcomes. We have been engaging with border locations and the border industry to understand the operational impacts of any potential changes, especially at key locations like Dover, the Channel Tunnel and Holyhead, which handle large volumes of EU traffic.


Written Question
Customs
Tuesday 3rd July 2018

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to ensure smooth passage of freight and cars between Dover and French channel ports in the event of a failure to reach an agreement on customs arrangements, as a result of leaving the customs union and the single market.

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

We want our future relationship with the EU to be a deep and special partnership. We are confident that this is very much in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. The Government does not want or expect a no deal outcome and the agreement on an implementation period makes such an outcome less likely.

However, a responsible Government should prepare for all potential outcomes. We have been engaging with border locations and the border industry to understand the operational impacts of any potential changes, especially at key locations like Dover, the Channel Tunnel and Holyhead, which handle large volumes of EU traffic.


Written Question
Overseas Trade: Republic of Ireland
Wednesday 3rd January 2018

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to safeguard trade between (1) Fishguard, (2) Pembroke, and (3) Holyhead, and Ireland following Brexit.

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

In assessing our options for a new customs arrangement with the EU, the Government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK, and by three strategic objectives:

  • Ensuring UK-EU trade is as frictionless as possible;

  • Avoiding a ‘hard border’ between Ireland and Northern Ireland; and

  • Establishing an independent international trade policy.

The Government’s Future Partnership Paper on customs, published in August 2017, set out two approaches to our future customs relationship with the EU that most closely meet these objectives.


Written Question
Customs
Tuesday 19th September 2017

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what factors they will take into account, and with whom they will consult, in their deliberations on the nature of future customs arrangements with the EU, with particular reference to which of the two approaches they have set out, a highly streamlined customs arrangement or a new customs partnership with the EU, should be pursued.

Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our future partnership paper on customs arrangements sets out our objectives for a new customs arrangement with the EU, and our proposals to achieve them. The paper seeks views from all those with a stake in our future customs relationship with the EU, and poses a number of specific questions on our proposals for feedback.

We are also continuing to engage in dialogue on our proposals with industry stakeholders, including through a series of business roundtables conducted across the country, involving a range of different sectors. We will continue to engage with interested parties to inform our thinking as we move towards negotiations with our EU partners.


Written Question
Customs
Tuesday 19th September 2017

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the financial impact on taxpayers of setting a new streamlined customs arrangement once the UK has left the EU; if so, when they expect that impact to manifest; and how long they estimate it will take to put in place the new arrangements.

Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The government has undertaken a significant amount of work to assess the economic impacts of both approaches highlighted in the recent Future Customs Arrangements paper, but parliament has voted not to disclose material that could damage the United Kingdom’s position in its negotiations with the European Union. When assessing all options for the UK’s future relationship with the EU, the government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK.

The precise nature of a new streamlined customs arrangement, including implementation time, will be determined through negotiations. As set out in the Government's paper in August, the government believes that a model of close association with the EU Customs Union for a time-limited interim period would help both sides to minimise unnecessary disruption and allow for a smooth and orderly transition to any new arrangement.


Written Question
Customs
Tuesday 19th September 2017

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of any future variance in environmental and consumer standards between the UK and the EU on customs arrangements once the UK has left the EU.

Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As the government has made clear, we are in the process of carrying out a programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work that will contribute to our exit negotiations with the EU, to define our future partnership with the EU, and to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.

We stand by our manifesto commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it, and we will uphold our obligations under international environmental treaties.

We also recognise the importance of having effective protections for consumers buying goods and services across borders, and are determined to cooperate closely with our EU partners on issues of consumer protection after we leave the EU.