Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to ensure meaningful engagement with parliamentary committees on trade negotiations.

The Government has put in place a suite of transparency and scrutiny arrangements that go well beyond statutory requirements. These were outlined in an exchange of letters with the Lords International Agreements Committee in May 2022.

The Government’s commitments include engaging with the relevant Select Committees during the pre-negotiations phase, providing regular written updates during talks and offers of private briefings with negotiating teams; and sharing key documents with Committees prior to publication where possible. We have also committed to ensuring there is extended time for Select Committees to scrutinise final agreements prior to ratification.