Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Thursday 3rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) (SNP)]

10. What recent progress he has made on negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

11. What progress he has made on negotiations to agree the terms on which the UK will leave the EU.

[The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr David Davis)]

Clearly, great minds think alike today, Mr Speaker.

We have made significant progress in negotiating our exit by agreeing on the terms of a time-limited implementation period and locking down entire chapters on the financial settlement and citizens’ rights. Negotiations are ongoing. My officials are in Brussels this week, discussing a number of issues, including issues in the agreement such as Euratom, data and intellectual property rights and the future partnership. They are discussing how we should progress the future economic partnership and how we can progress the negotiations swiftly and in parallel. Northern Ireland—particularly human rights, state aid and, to some extent, agriculture—is also being discussed. Today, in Brussels my officials are discussing the future of the security partnership.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Davis]

The Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker), has visited Dundee and is very much across that issue. We have given undertakings in relation to guaranteeing the funding of the universities, but if the hon. Gentleman is interested, he can certainly discuss this with me explicitly, so that we can deal directly with the issue of the universities in his constituency.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

With what level of confidence does the Secretary of State estimate the probability of our leaving the customs union on 31 December 2020?

[Mr Davis]

Will 100% do?

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

Excellent.

[Mr Davis]

Let me make a serious point here. The issue of leaving the customs union plays directly to the issue of how we manage our future export and trade arrangements. Almost 60% of our exports are now going to the rest of the world. That is not surprising because both the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission itself have said that the vast majority of growth in world trade will come from outside the European Union. It is our explicit aim to make the most of that, and that means we have to leave the customs union.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Robin Walker]

The hon. Lady makes a very important point. It is important that we continue to look at all the investment in technology that we can make to ensure that our trade with the wider world is as frictionless as possible, and we need to look at these solutions with regard to the deal between the UK and the EU as well.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

The amendments passed in the other place on Monday night were those of a wrecking Chamber and not a revising Chamber, were they not?

[Mr David Davis]

No; the House of Lords is a revising Chamber and it does a very important job that I have, in my past, depended on from time to time. I agree, however, that some of the proposals—for example, to put timetables into the negotiating arrangements, at which point control is taken away from the Government—would be a gift to the negotiators on the other side.