Oral Answers to Questions

Craig Whittaker Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Barclay]

A huge amount of information has already been published, not least in the form of the technical notices that the Government have issued. However, I fear—this may be a rare area of agreement between the right hon. Gentleman and me—that there is no level of documentation we could publish that would fully satisfy him.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

3. What plans the Government have to negotiate visa-free travel between the UK and the EU for short visits after the UK leaves the EU.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

13. What plans the Government have to negotiate visa-free travel between the UK and the EU for short visits after the UK leaves the EU.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (James Duddridge)]

The European Union has confirmed that it will grant UK nationals visa-free travel for short stays, subject to reciprocity. The Government have also said that we do not intend to require visas for tourists or short-term business visitors from the European Union.

[Craig Whittaker]

On longer-term working visas, 19% of people in the Calder Valley work in manufacturing, a sector that is now suffering from skill shortages and benefiting from very high employment. Can my right hon. Friend put the minds of businesses at rest, and explain how we can fill these skill shortfalls in the short term after Brexit that are currently filled through freedom of movement?

[James Duddridge]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and I can certainly reassure him. As the Home Secretary set out, as we leave the EU we will transition to a new points-based immigration system that is built around the skills and talents that people have, not where they are from. In the short term, Swiss citizens and those from the European economic area who move to the UK after a no-deal Brexit on 31 October will still be able to start to study, as now.