Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the needs of the NHS in negotiating future trade deals.

The Department for International Trade works with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure a clear cross-Government position on the protection of the NHS in future trade agreements. Protecting the UK’s right to regulate in the public interest and protect public services, including the NHS, is of the utmost importance. 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.