Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

2. What estimate he has made of the volume of new legislation required in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

9. What estimate he has made of the volume of new legislation required in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

[The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Stephen Barclay)]

We continue to put the legislative building blocks in place to deliver our exit, and we have made good progress in passing the required primary legislation, including on nuclear safeguards and sanctions. As I said earlier, we are laying exit-related statutory instruments before Parliament.

[Stephen Barclay]

Given that in politics one is sometimes asked for short answers, I feel that I should stop my answer with the word “yes”. Yes, we will be ready. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to the work that the Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris), is doing on no-deal planning; a significant amount of work has been done. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the situation will also be very challenging: there is a huge amount to do as part of that no-deal planning. So yes, we will be ready, but significant work will be required.

[Dr Huq]

I thank you for hosting the Patchwork Foundation MP of the year awards last night, Mr Speaker; I thank the organisation for the great work it does for people of non-traditional backgrounds.

The Prime Minister and her Ministers continue to prove Danny Dyer right, who talked of the “mad riddle” of Brexit. They pose their deal, no deal or no Brexit. What concrete assurances can they give the university representatives I met yesterday about what happens to their millions of euros of monthly research funding if we crash out with no deal on 1 April? The last they heard was a letter from the now long-departed hon. Member for Orpington (Joseph Johnson)—he, they, I and the majority of my constituents want no Brexit.

[Stephen Barclay]

It might surprise you, Mr Speaker, but I was not able to join your social gathering last night.