UK Internal Market Access

8. What steps his Department is taking to ensure Northern Irish businesses have full access to the UK internal market.

The Government legislated under the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 to provide for unfettered access to the UK internal market for Northern Ireland goods. The Windsor framework further guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the UK market on a permanent basis.

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that the Windsor framework potentially gives the people of Northern Ireland the opportunity to trade with the Republic, as well as the rest of the United Kingdom?

I do agree, Mr Speaker. The Windsor framework represents an extraordinary opportunity for Northern Ireland for the long term. Not only will Northern Ireland have privileged access to the EU and UK markets but it will be under UK services regulation and will have access to our free trade agreements, such as our accession to the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership. That is an extraordinary opportunity—we should make the most of it.

The GB border operating model that has been recently published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs indicates that by October this year, there will be border checkpoints at Cairnryan, Liverpool and Holyhead. How is the Minister able to claim that there will be frictionless trade between Northern Ireland and GB when the Government are actively proposing to put border control posts on our trade routes into our most important market?

My right hon. Friend and I share many views in common, but I say to him as gently as possible that I think he is really referring to the red lane there. If we had moved forward with the protocol Bill, that would have implemented a red and a green lane, and the red lane would have required checkpoints. We have to engage seriously with the legitimate interests of Ireland and the European Union, and that means a solution of the form we have taken with the Windsor framework. I am proud that the Prime Minister did a deal that people said could not be done and got progress from both sides.