Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help increase the (a) volume and (b) value of trade between the UK and Ireland.

Reinvigorating the UK’s relationship with our European partners is a top priority for this Government.

As the Prime Minister has made clear, we are committed to building an ever stronger relationship with Ireland. The UK-Ireland Summit in March offers the opportunity to take forward key areas of mutual cooperation with Ireland, including increasing bilateral trade and investment in areas such as renewables, infrastructure and supporting small business. This will build on the meeting with Irish business leaders the Prime Minister and Taoiseach held in Dublin on 7 September, and my own visit to Dublin for bilateral talks with my counterpart and to speak at the British Irish Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference in October.