Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

David Evennett Excerpts
Wednesday 1st May 2019

(5 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Penny Mordaunt Portrait Penny Mordaunt
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I can give the hon. Gentleman those assurances. We want to continue to co-operate with our European partners. We would like to have a sensible development partnership with the EU going forward. Currently, the EU is not as keen on that as us and other nations outside the EU. I hope its programming in the future will be open.

David Evennett Portrait Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)
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Does my right hon. Friend agree that across the world the UK is seen as a development superpower? Does she agree that our leaving the EU will have no effect on that?

Penny Mordaunt Portrait Penny Mordaunt
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That is quite right; it will have no effect on our ability to be able to do things and to work with partners. I hope that the European Commission, and in particular its legal department, will see sense and recognise that 20% of the non-governmental organisations it currently uses are British because we are world-class. Its programming will be poorer if it does not continue to use world-class organisations.