Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new trade deals do not affect the ability of the UK to (a) regulate in the public interest and (b) protect public services.

Protecting the UK’s right to regulate in the public interest and protect public services, including the NHS, is of the utmost importance. The UK’s public services are protected by specific exceptions and reservations in EU trade agreements - including the recent EU-Canada agreement (CETA) - and, as we leave the EU, the UK will continue to ensure that rigorous protections are included in all trade agreements it is party to. The Government has been consistently clear that we are committed to the fundamental principles of the NHS - that it is universal and free at the point of need. We will ensure that no trade agreements alter these fundamental facts.