Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tracy Brabin and Dominic Raab

Thursday 25th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)]

Bed manufacturing contributes over £330 million to the UK economy, employing 7,000 people in over 155 companies. In Batley and Spen alone, there are 35 bed manufacturers employing over 1,000 staff. What conversations has the Secretary of State had with bed manufacturers to protect them from a no-deal Brexit?

[Dominic Raab]

We engage with all sectors and businesses of all kinds, both through the business advisory group, which I have gone and presented to, and the CBI’s business committee. We want to make sure that manufacturers like those in the hon. Lady’s constituency are protected in a no-deal scenario in relation to their EU trade links, but also their global ones. The best thing she can do is to get behind the Government so that we get the best deal for them.

EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation

Debate between Tracy Brabin and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 24th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The point is that the growth markets of the future will be areas such as Latin America or Asia, and that has also been confirmed by the European Commission’s analysis. This is not just a UK position; it is widely shared.

[Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State and other Conservative Members have said many times that no deal is better than a bad deal, but the Foreign Secretary said yesterday that no deal would be economically challenging. However, with still no evidence of what the Government have put in place for a no deal Brexit, will the Secretary of State please take this opportunity to give manufacturers in Batley and Spen advice on how to prepare for a potentially chaotic economic crisis?

[Dominic Raab]

We are broadly aligned in trying to strive to get the very best deal with the EU—that is where my overriding focus is—but I say gently to the hon. Lady and other Opposition Members that it would be deeply irresponsible to fail to prepare and plan for all eventualities when we are in a negotiation and when things depend on the good will and the ambition on the other side.

EU: Future Relationship White Paper

Debate between Tracy Brabin and Dominic Raab

Thursday 12th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, and that is why we take the approach that we do. We want to ensure that when we have an enhanced preferential trade relationship with a country, visas can go into the mix. That is the global practice right around the world. But it is crucial, as a matter of sound policy but also for retaining public trust in our migration system, that we have control over things people care about: the numbers of people coming here; ensuring the people coming here are self-sufficient; and making sure that if people threaten this country or commit criminal offences, they can be removed.

[Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)]

Having attended the welcome briefing on the previous agreement but without having had much time to scrutinise the White Paper, will the Secretary of State clarify for me and my constituents how the eye-wateringly complicated fudge around the facilitated customs arrangement can be anything but a disaster for manufacturing, particularly the bed manufacturers of Batley and Spen?

[Dominic Raab]

The FCA is an innovative new model; it is a business-friendly model that seeks to facilitate the greatest possible—[Interruption.] The hon. Lady is complaining about it, but I am trying to explain it to her and she might just take a moment to listen to the explanation. The FCA seeks to facilitate the greatest possible trade between the UK and the EU and, when put in place, it will make sure that up to 96% of UK goods trade is likely to pay the correct or no tariff at the border. The key difference between the FCA and the previous arrangements under the proposed customs partnership, is that tariff revenue will be levied up front rather than be reimbursed after the event, which Conservative Members agree would be more cumbersome and less effective in minimising the risk to trade.