Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Regional Effect

Tuesday 26 January 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government has secured a free trade agreement with the EU based on zero tariffs and zero quotas.
  • The Treasury's 2018 assessment indicated significant regional variation in the impact of Brexit.
  • The Government announced the levelling-up fund to support infrastructure development across the UK.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Paul Blomfield Lab
Economy Brexit
Context

The MP inquired about the government's assessment of the potential regional economic effects following the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement.

Question

What assessment have the Government made of the potential economic effect of the UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement on each region of the UK?

Answer from Rishi Sunak

We have secured an unprecedented free trade agreement with the European Union—the first free trade agreement that the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas. Across sectors and regions, it is a good deal that will protect jobs and investment.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The regional economic impact assessment was not provided.

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Q2 Paul Blomfield Lab
Economy Brexit
Context

The MP highlighted the uneven regional economic impact caused by Brexit, citing issues such as grounded fishing fleets and higher manufacturing costs. He questioned whether the Chancellor agrees that there is a need to address this damage.

Question

The assessment conducted by the Treasury in 2018 concluded that there would be significant regional variation in the impact of any Brexit deal. We are certainly seeing that, with fishing fleets grounded, manufacturers hit with extra costs, and the Department for International Trade apparently advising businesses to move parts of their operation to the EU to avoid problems. It is clear that there will be a significant regional impact. Does the Chancellor agree that he needs to redress that regional damage from the Brexit deal? Alternatively, does he agree with the new Business Secretary's comments in “Britannia Unchained” that regional division is an “irrelevant” debate?

Answer from Rishi Sunak

No one can doubt the Government's commitment to uniting and levelling up across our United Kingdom, with an unprecedented infrastructure investment programme. Notably in the spending review, we announced something called the levelling-up fund, which will fund the infrastructure of everyday life in communities up and down the country, on top of our once-in-a-generation increase in infrastructure investment in road, rail and broadband that will benefit equally all parts of our United Kingdom.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The need to redress regional damage was not directly acknowledged.

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