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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on (a) Blackburn and (b) other regional areas of the UK of a no deal scenario when the UK leaves the EU.

We are committed to getting the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for all parts of the UK, including the North West. We do not want or expect a no deal outcome. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached.

The Government is undertaking a wide range of continuing analysis and preparatory work, across a range of scenarios, looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU.

Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would reveal our negotiating position and so the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on internal analytical work.

The Government has confirmed that when we bring forward the vote on the final deal, we will ensure that Parliament is presented with the appropriate analysis to make an informed decision.