Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is fully committed to negotiating a deep and special partnership with the European Union. The Department is preparing for future trade negotiations by building capability and resource, and is developing positions for a range of negotiating scenarios in order to minimise disruption for UK businesses and avoid the introduction of new regulatory barriers.