Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with businesses on the Northern Ireland protocol.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I meet regularly with individual businesses and business representative organisations as negotiations and preparations for the end of the Transition Period continue. This includes via meetings of the Business Engagement Forum, which has now met thirteen times since its formation in June. Ministers and officials in the Northern Ireland Office and across Government also continue to speak with Northern Ireland businesses and business representative organisations outside of these formal discussions.