Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure couriers can resume regular shipments of (a) retail art and (b) antiques currently suspended due to customs complications in several EU states.

We are working closely with businesses in the art and antiques sector to support them in trading with, and shipping goods to and from, EU member states.

We recognise that leaving the EU means a period of change for businesses, at a time when everyone has been responding to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, but this is an unparalleled opportunity for the UK to do things differently and better, and create the blueprint for our growing prosperity through the 21st century.

The deal we have negotiated secures preferential market access to the EU for UK businesses whilst securing the UK’s status as an independent and sovereign country. It ensures that there will be no tariffs or quotas for trade in goods with the EU.

We have taken steps to facilitate the export of cultural goods to EU countries. We developed a new inland pre-clearance process for export licences for works of art, and we are in the process of digitising the export licencing system for cultural goods. These steps reduce border friction and avoid delays and security risks.

We will continue to engage with businesses in sectors that are affected by our changing relationship with the EU to help them adjust and continue to successfully compete on the global stage.