No-deal EU Exit Preparations Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Exiting the European Union
Sarah Wollaston
Main Page: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)Department Debates - View all Sarah Wollaston's debates with the Department for Exiting the European Union
No-deal EU Exit Preparations
Sarah Wollaston Excerpts(5 years, 8 months ago)
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Chris Heaton-Harris
Yes, I can confirm that we have signed a whole suite of aviation agreements and that is the case.
Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Ind)
There is a good reason why this House has resoundingly objected to and rejected a no-deal Brexit: because Members here have looked at the evidence of the real-world harms. Just one such area of concern is the position of healthcare for British citizens who are pensioners who have retired to countries across the European Union. The Minister will know that a reciprocal arrangement could not be made with the EU as a whole but would have to be made with 27 individual countries. Can he set out in how many of those 27 countries our fellow citizens who have retired to the EU now have the absolute certainty that in nine days’ time they will have reciprocal healthcare arrangements in place?
Chris Heaton-Harris
Actually, a whole host of countries are now enacting legislation through their processes to do exactly as the hon. Lady says. The hon. Lady is completely correct in the fact that health in general terms is tied up in social security policy in nearly all EU member states. This needs legislation in individual EU member states, and I believe—I will write to the hon. Lady later today to clarify this—that pretty much every member state has started that legislative framework process.