Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Chris Heaton-Harris

Thursday 28th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with representatives of the business community on the potential effect on the UK economy of leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Chris Heaton-Harris)]

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman, my friend, knows his place. If only he could keep his wife’s pegs in the Members’ Cloakroom as tidy as he keeps his own, all would be well in the world. I thank him for his question.

Getting a deal is the best way to give the business community the certainty and clarity it needs and is asking for. This year alone, we have published over 250 pieces of advice to businesses of all sizes to provide the information they need to prepare for our exit from the European Union. This week alone, Ministers have met businesses from across the economy, including the financial services, energy and automotive sectors, to discuss this plan.

[Nick Smith]

If we crash out, what will the Minister say to Welsh farmers when they cannot sell their lamb to European markets because they face tariff rates of 46%?

Leaving the EU: No Deal

Debate between Nick Smith and Chris Heaton-Harris

Wednesday 19th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The Government are very short of legislative time to prepare for no deal. Will the Minister outline the process for possibly extending article 50?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

It is a matter of Government policy that we will not be revoking article 50.

As I said earlier, work preparing for no deal is not just starting now. As a responsible Government, we have spent more than two years making extensive preparations for all scenarios, including no deal. For instance, over the summer we published the 106 technical notices to which the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) referred. They contained, among many other items, guidance for the public on travelling to the EU, covering driving, passports, pet passports and flights; advice for businesses on various changes, including changes relating to data protection, copyright and intellectual property; and guidance for organisations that receive EU funding on how they can continue to receive it in a no-deal scenario.

Since then, we have taken further steps to ensure that people and businesses are ready. That has included publishing more than 100 pages of guidance for businesses on processes and procedures at the border in a no-deal scenario; contacting 145,000 businesses that trade with the EU, telling them to start getting ready for no-deal customs procedures; advising hundreds of ports of entry, traders, pharmaceutical firms and other organisations that use the border about the disruption that they might experience so that they can get their supply chains ready; and producing a paper on citizens’ rights, giving people clarity about their future and the fact that they will be able to continue to live their lives as they do now.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Chris Heaton-Harris

Thursday 6th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

We continue to have regular conversations with colleagues across Government, including the Department for International Trade, on all aspects of exit, including farm and food standards. As we leave the European Union we are clear that consumers must be confident that food has been produced to a high standard and that we must protect highly integrated supply chains to the benefit of customers across Europe. That is why we have this deal on the table.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

When the Agriculture Bill comes back to this Chamber, will the Government table an amendment to maintain our high standards on food safety and animal welfare in future trade agreements?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

I look forward to that discussion in the course of the Agriculture Bill.