Asked by
To ask the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office () what evidence-based analysis Her Majesty’s Government
are using to oversee the cross-government work on maximising the
economic and political opportunities flowing from the United
Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office () (Con)
My Lords, the UK’s future economic and political opportunities
are maximised by the ability we now have to set laws which suit
this country’s needs, rather than the lowest common denominator
of EU member states. That is true when we review existing
legislation and when we set new legislative frameworks for the
industries of the future. In doing so, we will draw on economic
and analytical support from within government departments and
beyond them.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on his appointment to the
Cabinet. I am surprised that there is no mention of the specific
work of anybody. I cite the economic work of Crowley, Exton and
Han from Cambridge University, and hope that he will look at it.
I want to ask about political opportunities. Does he agree that
for 2021, two large opportunities for the independent UK are the
G7 and COP 26? Does he further agree that, to maximise these
opportunities, it will be more effective to co-operate with the
EU as an entity than via bilateral relations with member states?
(Con)
My Lords, I very much agree with the noble Lord that we have
great opportunities on the world stage after Brexit. This year
the G7 summit and COP 26 meeting are among the most important. Of
course, we seek to co-operate with the EU and its member states
in whichever way is most appropriate.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I, too, warmly welcome the Minister to his first outing
at Minister of State’s Questions. There are 24 committees and
groups set up under the trade and co-operation agreements. They
are, in effect, the instruments and controls in its cockpit, but
the Government have said that there will be no meetings of these
bodies until the end of the ratification period, which is now
considerably extended, so the flight deck is empty. Given that
the TCA is fully operational, what plans do the Government have
to at least get meetings in the diary?
(Con)
My Lords, I have, of course, read the full and thoughtful report
produced by the noble Earl’s committee, which was published on
Monday, on this question and many others. We think that it is
right to establish the Government’s arrangements fully when the
treaty is fully in force and ratified on both sides, which we
hope will be very soon.
(Con)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the noble Lord, , should
concentrate on outcomes, not process, and that he need look no
further than the terrific work being done by my right honourable
friend the Secretary of State for International Trade, with 66
trade deals already done and more still to come as evidence of
how the Government are delivering opportunities for the UK now
that we are out of the EU?
(Con)
I very much agree with the thrust of my noble friend’s question.
More than 60 trade treaties were rolled over last year, and a
number of others are now under negotiation with the United
States, Australia, New Zealand and so on, and we have an
aspiration to join the CPTPP. My right honourable friend the
Secretary of State for International Trade is doing an excellent
job in this area, and I am sure she will continue to do so.
(CB)
My Lords, the importance of international access for service
industries and the integration of UK and EU services is well
evidenced. Some 40% of services trade in the UK’s £116 billion
creative sector flows to the EU, and the integrated review
reminds us that these services enhance the UK’s soft power and
its balance of trade. Will the Minister ensure that this evidence
is taken into account in identifying future opportunities for the
UK? If the existing evidence is not enough, can he tell us what
further evidence is required to convince the Government to
prioritise our world-leading, revenue-generating creative
industries in future trade negotiations?
(Con)
My Lords, the UK is very much a services-based economy and the
success of our services industries in all areas is essential for
our future prosperity. We are well aware of the particular issues
faced by cultural workers and we put forward solutions in the TCA
negotiations to try to deal with them but, unfortunately, that
was not possible. We are now working energetically with our
European friends bilaterally to see whether we can reduce the
most difficult barriers and will continue to do so.
(Lab)
My Lords, as a Minister and as First Minister of Scotland, I was
regularly engaged in developing negotiating positions and in
other debates on the UK’s position in discussions with the
European Union. What arrangements has the Minister put in place
to engage with the devolved Governments as part of these new
arrangements with the European Union? Specifically, how will he
engage with civic society and business in Scotland to ensure that
their views are being heard?
(Con)
My Lords, we engaged very closely with the devolved
Administrations last year during the TCA negotiations and in the
implementation of the withdrawal agreement. At the moment, we are
considering the best way of engaging the devolved Administrations
most effectively in the new governance arrangements that have
been set up, and I expect we will want further discussions on
that matter before too long.
(LD)
My Lords, when I asked the Minister last week about the absence
of the EU/UK agreement impact assessment, he told me:
“The economic situation last year, the impact of the pandemic and
the huge uncertainties made it very difficult to conduct an
analysis.”—[Official Report, 18/3/21; col. 447.]
However, that was not the case for the UK/Japan agreement he
referred to, on which a 107-page assessment was published at the
end of October. The Minister just told the House that the
Government are drawing on economic and analytical support within
government. Will the British Parliament be able to see any of it?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government routinely publish much information and
analysis of this country’s economic prospects. They most recently
did so around the Budget earlier this month. Many other bodies,
such as the OBR and the ONS do likewise. There is a good deal of
comment on the prospects for this country after Brexit,
economically and otherwise, and we are not convinced that further
publications at this point would add to this very rich debate.
(Con)
Can my noble friend enlighten the House on the progress he is
making with the export of shellfish from the UK to the EU? Does
he accept that the EU has acted in bad faith in its strict
adherence to the rules? Is he contemplating that we might
retaliate in kind?
(Con)
My Lords, we obviously regret the situation that has arisen with
the difficulties in exporting shellfish to the European Union
after 1 January. Clearly, nothing changed in the safety of
British shellfish or British waters at midnight on 31 December.
We are continuing to work with the Commission and member states
to see whether we can resolve this situation.
(Lab)
My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Hamilton, I want to return to
an issue we touched on last week when the Minister appeared to
dismiss concerns about the January fall in exports, saying:
“A unique combination of facts has made it inevitable”.—[Official
Report, 18/3/21; col. 445.]
The Food and Drink Federation does not share his complacency,
having seen its members’ exports to the EU collapse by 75% in the
past year but by only 11% to the rest of the world. It is clear
that the Brexit negotiations, which the Minister was part of, had
a hugely significant impact, particularly on small businesses, so
I have two questions for him. First, if the fall really was
inevitable, why did he not tell businesses beforehand? Secondly,
will he urgently convene a meeting, notwithstanding his earlier
comments, of the partnership council and the special trade
committees to try to save British exports?
(Con)
My Lords, the economic situation is clearly hugely influenced by
many factors including stock building, the implementation of the
Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the effects of the pandemic,
which has dramatically affected markets in Europe, to which many
of our smaller companies and food companies export. We are
working very closely with all those companies to deal with the
difficulties they face, and we will continue to do so in support
of our great food and drink industry.
(CB)
My Lords, I echo the approach of the noble Baroness, Lady Smith,
to this question. The first set of concrete numbers are now
available and starting to speak for themselves. What is the
reaction to Santander UK’s recent barometer survey published this
week showing that 16% of the businesses surveyed—equating to
1,000 businesses—say that European supply chains are no longer
viable and 23% say that the increase in the costs of bureaucracy
currently prohibits them trading with existing UK markets? Then
there is this morning’s news that Santander UK is closing 111 UK
branches with the loss of 5,000 jobs. What plans do the
Government have to fix these issues?
(Con)
My Lords, the ongoing pandemic is clearly having a significant
effect on the economic situation in Europe and in the UK. That
cannot be removed from the economic situation we are trying to
consider. We are working very closely with goods exporters,
services exporters and all companies to enable them to deal with
the new processes they face to ensure that they can continue to
prosper after Brexit.
