Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when negotiations will resume with the European Commission regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Veterinary Arrangements and the Customs Code as part of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

We have engaged in negotiations with the European Union in good faith. After almost two years of negotiations, we are asking the Commission to go back to Member States for a new mandate, that would provide the flexibility to fix the current issues facing the people of Northern Ireland.

Our preference is for a negotiated outcome - but we cannot wait to fix the issues facing the people of Northern Ireland. We will take steps to stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland and bring parity to everyone living in the UK, but we remain open to further talks if we can fix the issues with the Protocol through a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile, the legislation we will bring forward will fix the domestic impact of the Protocol, stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland and form an executive - protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement - without undermining the integrity of either the EU or the UK's single market.