Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019 on (a) the Industrial Strategy and (b) sector deals.

The Government continues to work towards a deal with the EU. This is very much in the interest of the EU as well as the UK.

The Industrial Strategy has set out a long-term approach to ensure that we’re building an economy fit for the future and will help us make the best of our relations with Europe and beyond. This includes a range of measures aimed at increasing investment from the private and public sector, from cutting business taxes, slashing red tape to investing in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale.

The interventions and policies across the Industrial Strategy – including Sector Deals - are robust and aim to deliver improvements to the UK’s productivity and earning power across a variety of potential scenarios, including a no deal scenario.