Borders and Customs: Northern Ireland

(asked on 15th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of customs and border checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain on (a) Wales and the (b) Welsh economy.


Answered by
Simon Hart Portrait
Simon Hart
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
This question was answered on 22nd January 2020

I discuss a range of issues with my Cabinet colleagues, including EU Exit. The Government is committed to ensuring unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods to the market in Great Britain including Wales. That is why the Government negotiated hard with the European Union to secure explicit wording in the text of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland that means nothing within it prevents the Government from ensuring unfettered access for goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the UK’s internal market including Wales. As set out in the agreed New Decade, New Approach deal, the Government will legislate to guarantee unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the whole of the UK internal market, and ensure that this legislation is in force for 1 January 2021.

The Prime Minister has been clear that, beyond our obligations under international law, there will be no new checks and processes on the movement of goods from Northern Ireland to GB. When discussing the protocol with the EU, the UK will be ambitious on how flexible we can make this system.

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