Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the paper entitled Withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU Rules in the Field of Industrial Products, published by the EU Commission on 22 January 2018, what discussions he has had during negotiations on whether UK notified bodies will lose their status in March 2019 or after the completion of the proposed implementation period.

We are working closely with Member States and our partners in the EU institutions to negotiate the best deal for the UK and the EU. As set out in the Government’s August 2017 position paper ‘Continuity in the availability of goods for the EU and the UK’, we want compliance activity, including conformity assessments from notified bodies, carried out prior to exit to be recognised in both the UK and the EU to support a smooth exit and the move to a deep and special future relationship. We have been engaging extensively with the EU on these matters.

We welcome the EU’s agreement to negotiate an implementation period, as set out in the Council guidelines published on 15 December. We have been clear that this should be based on the existing structure of EU rules and regulations, during which the UK and the EU would continue to have access to one another’s markets on current terms. We will continue to work closely with all relevant stakeholders, including notified bodies.