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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that the recently agreed transition period will provide enough time for businesses to be ready for Brexit; and what support they will provide, particularly to smaller businesses, to ensure that they are.

Ministers regularly meet small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and their representative bodies, as part of our preparation to leave the EU, to understand the concerns of small business owners and to find out what support they want from government.

The time-limited implementation period responds to many of their concerns by giving businesses and citizens across the European Union and United Kingdom time they need to prepare for the future, by ensuring our access to each other’s markets continues on current terms.

The support provided to businesses will also be informed by the outcome of negotiations with the EU on our future relationship.