Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of potential job losses in the automotive industry in the event that the UK and EU fail to secure a trade agreement before the end of the transition period.

The Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with the EU. There are large areas of convergence and we will keep working to bridge the gaps.

The Government is continuing to engage extensively with business and industry about how to prepare for changes to trade at the end of the transition period. Many businesses have already begun preparing for life outside the Customs Union and we urge others to do the same. This includes getting an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number and making plans for completing customs declarations, where traders will need a customs agent or their own software.