Draft Professional Qualifications and Services (Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Matthew Pennycook Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2020 General Committees

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Eagle. I thank the Minister for his comprehensive summary of the regulations. We recognise that the instrument before us is technical in nature and that its purpose is—somewhat refreshingly, I have to say, given the events of recent days—to ensure that specific provisions of the withdrawal agreement are given effect. As such, we will not seek to divide the Committee this afternoon, and I do not wish to detain Members any longer than I have to. However, I wish to put two brief points to the Minister. Hopefully he can provide his thoughts on both.

The first is a general point relating to certainty. As with so much of the secondary legislation that the Government have introduced of late, the instrument we are being asked to approve is presented in essence as a contingency piece of legislation. The Minister spoke about the temporary nature of many of the regulations and how they are given effect. However, with just 15 weeks remaining until the end of the transition period, it is becoming increasingly hard to view these regulations as such.

I know that I do not need to tell the Minister about the benefits that flow from professional qualifications, in terms of driving up standards of practice, giving confidence to UK employees and consumers, and improving contracts for workers. I know, too, that he is well aware of how many UK professionals depend on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications across the European economic area, the implications for their jobs and livelihoods should the Government not secure an adequate replacement framework by 31 December, and the impact of such an outcome on an area in which the UK enjoys a significant comparative advantage.

However, the UK, EU and Swiss professionals affected still await more information from the Government on their vision for a future recognition framework, and their frustration at its absence cannot be overstated. With just over 100 days remaining, all they have to go on at present is the commitments set out in the legally non-binding political declaration and in the withdrawal agreement, the permanence of which, as he knows, Ministers have called into question over recent days. I do not expect the Minister to comment on ongoing negotiations, but can he today provide those professionals affected with some comfort, and confirm that the Government are intent on securing a long-term agreement in this area that will provide for their future jobs and livelihoods?

The second point relates to the involvement of those professionals in a dialogue about the replacement framework that the Government are seeking to secure. The Minister’s Department launched its public consultation on the recognition of professional qualifications on 25 August, just 21 days ago. We obviously welcome the fact that consultation is taking place, but will he tell the Committee why it took so long for the Government to initiate it? That also begs the obvious question: if the Government are only now discovering what those who stand to be affected want to see negotiated to replace the current arrangements, what has shaped the Government’s negotiating position in this area to date? With the consultation due to close as late as October, it is difficult not to view the exercise as little more than window dressing. I hope he can reassure me on that point.

I urge the Minister to take this opportunity to reassure professionals and businesses here in the UK and in the EU not only that the Government remain committed to securing an efficient and robust mutual recognition system that will enable our talented professionals to operate in the EEA and Switzerland, as they have done for so many years, but that their views will continue to shape what is being fought for in the negotiations.