Following sustained and constructive dialogue with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, I am informing the House that three frameworks have been published by the UK Government on behalf of the Scottish and Welsh Governments, and the Northern Ireland Executive:
Blood safety and quality common framework
Organs, tissues and cells common framework
Late payment common framework
This brings the total number of finalised common frameworks to eight. This is in addition to four bilateral common frameworks finalised with the Northern Ireland Executive and published on 26 February by the Department for Transport: rail technical standards; commercial transport and operator licensing; driver licensing; and motor insurance.
These documents have been updated to reflect changes in both policy and legislation since the common frameworks were laid for scrutiny, and accommodate many of the recommendations made, not only by the UK Parliament, but also legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, changes have occurred in key areas such as the Windsor framework replacing the Northern Ireland protocol. The Windsor framework has reduced regulatory divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland for goods remaining in the UK. The standard text was updated in the relevant common frameworks following agreement by the four Governments.
The continued efforts and joint working by the four Governments have enabled the operation of the full programme of common frameworks since they were provisionally published in 2021-22. The final publication of these frameworks is an excellent example of strong communication and collaboration. It demonstrates that together, the four Governments of the United Kingdom can take the right decisions for the benefit of citizens and businesses, protecting the integrity of the UK internal market.