Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department plans to take to support UK companies contracted by the EU for work in relation to the Common Security and Defence Policy during the transition period of the UK leaving the EU.

DExEU has organised over 700 recorded engagements with business and civil society stakeholders from every sector of the British economy since July 2016 and to date DExEU Ministers have attended over 120 roundtable meetings on a wide range of topics. The Department continues to engage with businesses as we approach exit day on 31 January.

Additionally, the UK will continue to participate in programmes funded under the current 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until their closure. This means that the vast majority of programmes will continue to receive EU funding across the programme’s lifetime. In many cases, funding will continue until after 2020 and the end of the Implementation Period.

Government will continue to hold regular forums with intermediaries, trade associations and business organisations to support them through the transition period.