Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press statement by Michel Barnier following the second round of future relationship negotiations with the United Kingdom published on 24 April 2020, what recent (a) social, (b) economic, (c) labour and (d) environmental impact assessments the Government has undertaken of the effect of not reaching a deal with the EU by the end of the transition period.

The UK has struck a deal with the EU and that will form the basis of our relationship with the EU going forwards. There is no danger of the kind of legal rupture and uncertainty that would have occurred if we had left the EU without a deal. The outstanding question is how deep our trading relationship can be in future and what kind of pragmatic collaboration we are looking for in other areas.

It’s in our and the EU’s interests to have a future relationship which keeps goods flowing, services being provided, and business being done. Negotiations with the EU on the form that relationship will take are ongoing. We will continue to keep Parliament informed with appropriate analysis at appropriate times.