Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Trade and Agriculture Commission will (a) meet in public, (b) publish minutes of its meetings and (c) publish all evidence submitted to the Commission.
The Trade and Agriculture Commission will act as an advisory board to the Secretary of State for International Trade. At the end of its six month term it will submit an advisory report which will be presented to Parliament by my Department.
Discussions will be supported by robust analytical and empirical data and will take place on a confidential basis.
The Chair and Members of the Commission were appointed by the Secretary of State for International Trade. They were selected for their breadth of knowledge and expertise on the issues to be considered by the Commission. Appointments are made for 6 months.
The Trade and Agriculture Commission will be supported by a Secretariat run by the Department for International Trade. The Secretariat will be responsible for sharing updates from Trade and Agriculture Commission meetings with other Government Departments and the Devolved Administrations. There are representatives from devolved administrations, notably the different National Farmers Unions, in the Commission.