Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish a list of the stakeholders consulted in advance of the publication of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill on 21 October 2019.
Answered by James Duddridge
Since July 2016 - The Department for Exiting the European Union has organised over 850 recorded engagements with business and civil society stakeholders from every sector of the British economy since July 2016, and DExEU Ministers have attended over 120 roundtable meetings on a wide range of topics.
Regular forums have been held with over 70 intermediaries, trade associations and business organisations.
These engagements have informed all aspects of our exit from the European Union, including the Withdrawal Agreement, and provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish (a) the most up-to-date version of the 1 August 2019 Operation Yellowhammer document and (b) the dates on which each version of that document was circulated; what the distribution list is for that document; and for what reasons the assumptions in each version changed.
Answered by Michael Gove - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish all the steps taken by the Government to mitigate the effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal since 24 July 2019.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is continuing to prepare for our exit from the European Union and we are making all necessary preparations to ensure we are ready whatever the circumstances, including a no deal scenario. The Government has published extensive material relating to Brexit on Gov.UK/Brexit.
The Hon. Member may wish to refer to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s statement to the House on Brexit readiness and Operation Yellowhammer, made on 25 September 2019 for more information relating to this question on the effects and mitigations to a no deal exit.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also wrote to the Chair of the Commons EU Exit Committee on 25 September 2019 confirming a document outlining the no deal mitigations the Government has put in place and intends to put in place will be published in due course.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal that cannot be mitigated; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK of those unmitigated effects.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is continuing to prepare for our exit from the European Union and we are making all necessary preparations to ensure we are ready whatever the circumstances, including a no deal scenario. The Government has published extensive material relating to Brexit on Gov.UK/Brexit.
The Hon. Member may wish to refer to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s statement to the House on Brexit readiness and Operation Yellowhammer, made on 25 September 2019 for more information relating to this question on the effects and mitigations to a no deal exit.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also wrote to the Chair of the Commons EU Exit Committee on 25 September 2019 confirming a document outlining the no deal mitigations the Government has put in place and intends to put in place will be published in due course.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has been made of the potential effect on the domestic fuel industry of the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
If the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement, supplies of crude oil, fuel, and important chemicals for refineries are expected to remain available through the UK’s diverse supply chains from Europe and the rest of the world.
The Government has been working closely with the fuel industry to minimise the risks from leaving the EU on fuel supplies. The Government also has a long-standing fuel supply contingency programme that includes measures that can be deployed in support of industry to maintain supplies.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on levels of unemployment of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Short-term forecasting is undertaken by the Office for Budget Responsibility in line with its statutory duty. In line with its remit, the OBR’s forecasts include the economic and fiscal impact of government policy on EU exit where the effects can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The OBR has said that it will adjust its Brexit assumptions when more detail is available on the future trade and migration relationship between the UK and EU.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential effect on inflation of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Short-term forecasting is undertaken by the Office for Budget Responsibility in line with its statutory duty. In line with its remit, the OBR’s forecasts include the economic and fiscal impact of government policy on EU exit where the effects can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The OBR has said that it will adjust its Brexit assumptions when more detail is available on the future trade and migration relationship between the UK and EU.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on insurance payments from EU insurers to UK policyholders of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Government has legislated to ensure that all UK insurance policies with EU insurance companies can continue to be serviced by those EU companies after Brexit.
We have introduced legislation for a Temporary Permissions Regime for EEA firms currently passporting into the UK to continue operations in the UK for a time-limited period while they apply for full UK authorisation.
Government has also legislated for a Financial Services Contracts Regime, allowing for the orderly wind down of the UK regulated activities of remaining firms who do not enter the TPR, those whose applications for full UK authorisation are not successful, and those that do not apply for it.
This action has largely mitigated the potential impacts on policyholders. This is reflected in the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report, which describes a ‘low risk’ of disruption.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when she will publish Government analysis of the potential effect on UK refineries of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government is engaging extensively with the fuel supply industry, as it is with other sectors, to ensure we fully understand and respond to the potential impacts of a Brexit without a withdrawal agreement on the sector. These discussions contain sensitive commercial information that the companies have provided to the Government in confidence and therefore it would not be appropriate to make this information public.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of UK nationals in EU countries who will potentially face increased healthcare costs in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government has proposed to all European Union Member States that when we leave, we should maintain the existing healthcare arrangements until 31 December 2020, with the aim of minimising disruption to healthcare provision for United Kingdom nationals and EU citizens.
After the UK leaves the EU, the majority of UK nationals who currently live or work in EU Member States will still have options for accessing healthcare under local rules. Depending on the country, it will generally be possible to access healthcare through legal residency, current or previous employment, or through joining a social insurance scheme and contributing a percentage of their income as other residents need to do. Some people may need to purchase private health insurance while applying or if they are not eligible for local schemes.