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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union with reference to his Department's paper Providing a cross-border civil judicial cooperation framework: a future partnership, published in August 2017, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK insolvency and restructuring procedures and judgements will continue to be recognised across the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government’s Civil Judicial Cooperation Future Partnership Paper of August 2017 makes clear that an effective framework of civil judicial cooperation, which includes insolvency law, is an important part of the deep and special partnership we want to establish with the EU. It is in the interests of the UK and the EU that there continues to be an effective framework for resolving cross-border legal disputes after we leave.

This will provide confidence and certainty to families, business and individuals, ensuring they can continue to settle cross-border disputes efficiently and effectively in the future. The current rules, on which we hope to model a new agreement, provide a legal route to resolving often difficult or desperate situations.

The exact future relationship between the EU and UK on civil judicial cooperation, including the recognition of insolvency and restructuring procedures and judgments, is subject to negotiations with our EU partners.