EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation

Thangam Debbonaire Excerpts

Tuesday 24th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I can tell my hon. Friend that not only will we be able to negotiate, but we will be able to conclude deals. The Department for International Trade is now embarking on a series of consultations about the substance of those free trade agreements so that the public and his constituents will understand the value and importance that the agreements will bring to the country.

[Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West) (Lab)]

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Will the Secretary of State please commit to meeting the Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Margot James), who in a recent meeting with me and the Musicians’ Union agreed about the need for there to be some form of visa so that musicians and others in the creative and other industries, including sportspeople, can continue to tour the EU? Paragraph 26 on frontier workers does not deal with self-employed people who need to tour the EU.

[Dominic Raab]

That is one of the issues that needs to be discussed in the context of the future relationship, but the hon. Lady raises the importance of our getting the best deal on that relationship in tandem and in parallel with the withdrawal and exit terms.