Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a committee to consider international agreements in the House of Commons.

The Business and Trade Committee has an important role to play in the scrutiny of the Department for Business and Trade and its public bodies, including international trade agreements. The International Trade Committee previously conducted inquiries into the Free Trade Agreements with Australia and New Zealand, as well as more recent inquiries into the UK’s CPTPP accession and UK trade negotiations with India and the Gulf Cooperation Group.

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRaG) provides an effective and robust framework for scrutiny of treaties that require ratification, including Free Trade Agreements. In addition, any legislation required to implement international agreements needs to be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way.