Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to Wales of writing the Common Travel Area into domestic UK law.

The Common Travel Area (CTA) is an administrative arrangement between the UK and Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.

It allows British and Irish citizens to travel freely between the UK and Ireland and reside in either jurisdiction. It also facilitates the enjoyment of associated rights and privileges including the right to work, to study and to access social security benefits and health services. We have always been clear on the shared commitment to protect the rights of our citizens in each other’s state, and this is already underpinned by domestic legislation, and will be updated as necessary, to ensure that the agreed CTA rights and privileges are properly reflected and Wales as part of the UK would continue to benefit from the CTA.