Free Trade Agreements: Scrutiny

Roger Gale Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2023 Commons Chamber

Select Committee statement

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)]

We now come to the Select Committee statement. The hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones) will speak for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of his statement, I will call Members to ask questions on the subject of the statement. They should be brief questions, not speeches. I emphasise that questions should be directed to the Business and Trade Committee Chair and not to the Government Minister, and Front Benchers may take part in questioning.

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[Darren Jones]

We are always very grateful for Ministers wanting to appear before the Committee, and we would be delighted to have the Minister before us. There is definitely a debate to be had about how we update our rules. I make the point again that not only were our rules set at a time when we were part of the EU and therefore the European Parliament, but they were based on a convention from 1929. Free trade agreements have changed a lot since the 1920s, and therefore our rules should probably be updated as well.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his report on behalf of his Committee.