Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the process was for selecting organisations for the (a) Domestic Advisory Group and (b) Civil Society Forum.

We launched an Expression of Interest campaign on 19 October to determine membership of the Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) and Civil Society Forum (CSF). The expression of interest campaign was extended from 9 November until 29 November following requests for an extension from a number of stakeholders.

We received 83 Expressions of Interest for the DAG or the CSF (or both). We are working closely with departments and devolved administrations to ensure a balanced representation of civil society organisations, including business organisations, Trade Unions, NGOs and charities, to represent all four nations of the UK.

To be considered for appointment under this campaign, the organisations must meet the eligibility criteria outlined on the Expression of Interest page on GOV.UK. We have encouraged applications from the widest range of qualified groups in line with our Public Sector Equality Duty.

Successful candidates for the DAG will be informed in the coming weeks. The participants for the Civil Society Forum will be confirmed once the guidelines which underpin the forum are agreed by the UK-EU TCA Partnership Council.