Contributions
1,320 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I am certainly not coming back on Report with a drafting correction for the deficiencies in the hon. Gentleman’s amendment; that would be a novel approach to Parliament. The fact…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, because I thought the Opposition were opposed to the Canada deal, so if we were to fall outside the Canada deal, they should be…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)As we have heard, amendment 10 intends to prevent the clause 2 power from being used to implement agreements that do not comply with existing international obligations on human…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I should apologise; I had not realised that the hon. Gentleman wanted to intervene on me on this issue. I undertake to write to him about Ghana and Kenya, and to copy in members…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)As I have set out, the Government’s continuity programme is coherent with existing international obligations, as it seeks to replicate existing EU agreements to secure continuity…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)Amendment 12 would mean that the power in clause 2 could not be used to implement agreements that might restrict the delivery of public services through public monopolies,…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)As the Committee will know, the UK’s food standards for both domestic production and imports are overseen by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland. Those agencies…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important issues raised in the amendments, which I think are fundamentally on different topics from those that we have dealt with for much…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I will now address amendment 14. As the hon. Gentleman has pointed out, the amendment would remove the power to modify direct principal EU legislation, or primary legislation that…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)May I start by welcoming you again to the Chair this afternoon, Sir Graham? In an oversight, I was not able to welcome Mrs Cummins this morning, because there had yet to be a…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)More than half of the continuity agreements have already been ratified, each with a report. The intention is to carry on producing those reports. I will deal with some of the…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, but there is no way of knowing whether the UK-Japan agreement will be significantly different, because it is yet to be…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, and I plan to come to constraints on that power shortly. He rightly said that on the face of it, the power is broad, but there…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)We have been absolutely clear in the process we have laid out. The publication of the negotiation objectives and the economic impact assessment, the fact that we have reported…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)Sir Graham, you will know that under CRAG it is up to Parliament to determine whether to have that debate. Parliament’s ability to scrutinise the agreement and its ability to…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Sixth sitting)I have already outlined in immense detail, probably three or four times now, the involvement that Parliament will have in future trade agreements. I remind the hon. Gentleman that…23 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Fourth sitting)I certainly will not do that now, but I recall making an unlikely entry in the Manchester Evening News the next day. At the time—I think it was the Finance Act 2008 or 2009—the…18 Jun 2020HANSARDFree Trade Agreements: Environmental Protection StandardsThis question is about trade agreements, and it is worth pointing out that we are not currently in negotiation with Brazil on a trade agreement. The European Union is, by the way.…18 Jun 2020HANSARDFree Trade Agreements: Environmental Protection StandardsIt is worth pointing out that nothing in any trade agreement would prevent the UK from reaching its targets under the Paris agreement and to go net zero by 2050—we are the first…18 Jun 2020HANSARDTrade Bill (Fourth sitting)I would not usually intervene on the shadow Minister, but perhaps I could bring this to a satisfactory resolution by inviting him and the hon. Member for Warrington North, who…18 Jun 2020