Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of Q95 of the oral evidence given by the Chief of Policy of the Confederation of British Business to the Business and Trade Select Committee on 11 February 2025.

The EU is a significant trading partner for both goods and services. In the 12 months ending September 2024, the UK’s total trade with the EU was 5% below the level seen in 2018, after removing the effect of inflation and excluding precious metals. We will tackle barriers to trade to help drive investment, jobs and growth for both UK and EU economies, but we have been clear there will be no return to freedom of movement, the customs union or the single market.