Mr Douglas Alexander
MP for Lothian East · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“I am glad to see that SNP Members are staying classy, as usual. On the matter of personnel choices, I am not sure that my first go-to source would be the First Minister, because of course he appointed Peter Murrell to be the chief executive of the Scottish National party. [ Interruption.”
“The SNP seems to respect every vote, apart from the constitutional referendum, in which 84% of the Scottish people exercised their democratic choice. The hon. Member she says that devolution is all the rage. With respect, some of us were early adopters.”
“I am not sure whether paying generous tribute to the right hon. Gentleman for his question and the wisdom thereof will impair my prospects. Of course, devolution provides us with the tools, but one of the great tragedies of the last two decades in Scotland is that, regardless of whether it is the education system—where we used to be the e…”
“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is a tireless advocate for the people of Fife and, indeed, for its outstanding college. Our officials are in discussions with both the colleges sector and the Scottish Government, and hope that they will match the £10 million of funding that this Government have committed so that we can get on with bui…”
“There is a serious point to start the answer, which is that I have always believed that to be pro-Scottish, you do not need to be anti-English. We should be bigger and more generous than that. We are all immensely proud of Steve Clarke, Andy Robertson and the achievement of getting to the world cup.”
“Let me assure my hon. Friend that we are committed to bringing economic opportunity to every part of Scotland. Unlocking the economic potential of sites exactly like the ExxonMobil Bowling terminal is how we can achieve that for communities and deliver the high-skilled jobs that people want.”
The complete record
Every one of 603 lines we hold for Mr Douglas Alexander, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 13.
“Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont)—albeit that I am not sure there is quite as wide a culinary Caledonian consensus on the health and dietary benefits of the deep-fried Mars bar. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) and confirm that we share his ambition to improve safety on our high streets—an issue to which I shall return. I also pay generous tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Chris McDonald). There is no stronger champion than he for Stockton and for the interests of its residents. I was intrigued to hear about the three businesses that are planning to open on Stockton high street. That is indeed welcome news, and I commend and congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing it to the attention of the House.”
“He has shown considerable interest in this policy area for many years, not least as chair of the former all-party parliamentary group for the future of retail. It is fair to say that he has been a persistent champion of high streets, not just in his constituency, but across the country, so his insights and views are always welcome. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) for speaking so powerfully about the perpetual review roundabout that we see in Scotland in relation to planning and, alas, the Scottish Government’s approach to the high streets. I acknowledge the real, if temporary, cross-party consensus identified by the hon.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. Before I respond to the debate on behalf of the Government, I should say that I am a proud member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, a union that works tirelessly on behalf of its 360,000 members to negotiate better pay and conditions for shop workers throughout the country. I thank all the many Members who participated in this worthwhile and timely debate, and pay tribute to each and every one who spoke compellingly about the high streets in their constituencies. I also pay tribute to the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) for securing the debate and thank him for speaking so eloquently—I particularly enjoyed his reference to the “skanky toilets”—in support of our high streets.”
“Let us be clear: high street businesses can prosper and grow only on firm foundations of economic stability—and that, alas, is certainly not what we inherited last July. Instead, we faced a £22 billion black hole created by the previous Government, featuring hundreds of unfunded pressures on public finances and countless uncosted measures that failed to withstand even the slightest scrutiny. The hon. Member for Stockton West spoke eloquently about his experience working for Woolies, but I respectfully point out that Woolies ceased to trade under a Conservative Government—a fact he omitted from his speech. At the Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made some, frankly, very difficult choices, but decisions were necessary to fix the foundations of a broken economy—”
“Time is against me. I want to address as many of the points raised today as I can, but before I do, I want to say a bit about the Government’s wider commitment to supporting our high streets. Hon. Members in all parts of the House agree that high streets play a vital role in providing a place for communities to come together, to work, to socialise, to shop and to access essential services. The sectors that underpin the high streets play a huge role in our broader economy. The retail sector directly supports some 2.9 million jobs across the UK, and in 2023 generated £110 billion gross value added. The UK hospitality sector employs about 2.2 million people; it is estimated to have contributed about £52 billion GVA in 2023, and it remains a key driver of the UK’s tourism industry.”
“I have mentioned this week’s introduction of the Crime and Policing Bill, a central part of the Government’s plan for change and indeed our safer streets mission. The Bill will ensure that the police and courts have the necessary powers to help to tackle assaults against retail workers and shop theft. It will create a stand-alone offence for assaulting a retail worker, in order to protect staff, measure the scale of the problem and drive down retail crime. It is simply unacceptable that shop theft, and violence and abuse towards retail workers, continue to rise. We ask retailers to perform a significant act of public service—”
“Let me now turn to some of the specific issues that hon. Members addressed, including, critically, crime and antisocial behaviour. Business rates reform and our approach to national insurance contributions are some of the economic levers taken by the Treasury to support the high street; but to create thriving high street environments takes a whole-of-Government approach. The Department for Business and Trade is working closely with other Departments, particularly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office, to co-ordinate activity that supports high streets and their businesses. A vital element of creating the thriving high streets of which so many Members have spoken is ensuring that they are a safe and comfortable environment both for business leaders and for shoppers.”
“We followed through on our promise to reform business rates and level the playing field for high streets across the country with lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, and we want to build on that momentum with our upcoming small business strategy, which will set out how we intend to support our small businesses on the high street and beyond. Our strategy comes with a clear recognition that the way we work and live is changing in a fast-evolving landscape. We must therefore ensure that our approach reflects the continually changing reality of our high streets. We have to make sure that we are supporting services that are fit for modern life, recognising that—for all the eloquence with which people have spoken this evening—no two high streets are in fact the same.”
“In our first seven months in office, we have made good progress with our plan. As the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire knows, just yesterday we introduced the Crime and Policing Bill, which will scrap the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting and do more to protect retail workers from assault; I hope it can find consensus in all parts of the House. We are providing additional funding to crack down on the organised gangs who target retailers and have done so with worrying frequency over recent years. Only this morning, we announced the expansion of the sector-based work academy programme—SWAPs—to create 100,000 more places over the next financial year. That will provide opportunities for participants in England and Scotland receiving certain benefits to train towards a job in hospitality and other high street sectors.”
“Along with every Member who has spoken in this debate, the Government want to support strong, thriving, mixed-use high streets that generate high footfall and high degrees of social capital in their local communities. That is why we are focused on a five-point plan to breathe life back into local high streets—high streets that, if we are candid, have faced challenges from changing retail patterns for some decades now. The plan includes addressing antisocial behaviour and retail crime—an issue raised by a number of people around the Chamber—as well as reforming the business rates system, working with the banking industry to roll out banking hubs, stamping out the vexed issue of late payments and empowering communities to make the most of vacant properties, which was also raised frequently this evening.”
“The Minister of State for Industry is meeting representatives of the steel industry and trade unions this very afternoon, and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade is in touch with representatives of the British steel industry and will meet them in the next 24 hours. Since July, we have engaged in a systematic way with the UK steel sector, and we will continue to engage with UK industries impacted by potential tariffs. Historically, we have benefited from a strong and balanced trade relationship with the United States—worth around £300 billion and supporting millions of jobs. In trade policy, we stand ready to work with President Trump to find solutions that work for both the United Kingdom and the United States.”
“We have seen the proclamation issued by President Trump overnight, which enforces a full return to 25% tariffs on US steel imports on 12 March 2025. The US has so far published details only on steel, not on aluminium. The intended effect of the proclamation is to revoke existing arrangements that have avoided those tariffs, such as the UK-US resolution, as well as any separately agreed product exclusions from the tariffs. What British industry needs and deserves is not a knee-jerk reaction but a cool and clear-headed sense of the UK’s national interest, based on a full assessment of all the implications of US actions.”
“Lady will understand, given how sensitive these issues are as we anticipate the further steps to be taken by the Trump Administration, that it would not be an altogether wise negotiating strategy to share the detail of the internal UK analysis of the potential effects of tariffs, which, I remind the House, are not due to be imposed until 12 March.”
“Lady’s substantive question about the degree of contact that we have had with the US trade representative, it may have eluded her attention that we do not yet have a confirmed US trade representative. We anticipate that Jamieson Greer will be confirmed by the US Senate in the next couple of weeks. Similarly, she might suggest that it is important for the Secretary of State to meet Howard Lutnick, the US Secretary of Commerce, but, alas, I must inform her that Howard Lutnick has not yet been confirmed. We stand ready to engage with the incoming Administration—be that with the USTR or the Secretary of Commerce—once we are in a position to do so. In terms of the economic analysis, I hope the hon.”
“Well, well—let me try to answer the various questions that the shadow Minister asks. First, on the big, beautiful deal that the Conservatives contemplated, I simply observe that that was one of a whole number of trade deals that they boast about but abjectly failed to deliver. The hon. Lady described this as a moment of great peril for the UK steel industry. Frankly, we saw the UK steel industry suffer from a degree of neglect for many years under the previous Government. That is why we are the first Government in many years to set out a comprehensive steel strategy, including a commitment of £2.5 billion towards the future of the steel industry. We will take no lectures from Conservative Front Benchers on the UK steel industry. On the hon.”
“In relation to the commitment for the steel strategy that we are due to unveil in the spring, I can assure my right hon. Friend that there is already a very active dialogue that will incorporate issues related not just to potential tariffs but to the risks of trade diversion, and to the substantive issues that he raises.”
“I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his generous words about the incoming UK ambassador to Washington, who—notwithstanding his commitment at the weekend to fly under the radar—is already in post and is making necessary calls. He is but one of the key interlocutors we have established with the incoming Administration, and—reflecting the earlier questions that we were asked—we are already actively engaged with the US Administration. More broadly on the approach to the UK steel industry, my friend and colleague the Minister of State for Industry is this afternoon meeting representatives of the steelmaking trade unions and representatives of the principal steel companies in the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State will further that dialogue in the next 24 hours. There has already been outreach to the UK Steel trade body.”
“It feels to me that this is an opportunity for the UK to exercise a cool head and a clear-eyed sense of where the national interest lies. These tariffs will not be imposed until 12 March, which gives us time to undertake the dialogue that is already under way, to reach a judgment on the basis of the analysis that we have already done, and to ensure that our interlocuters in Washington and elsewhere are engaged in a constructive and mature dialogue.”
“To give a sense of quantum to the House, about £400 million-worth of UK steel exports go to the United States. That represents, if I recollect accurately, about 10% of UK production, so the hon. Gentleman is entirely right to recognise that this is a significant moment. [ Official Report , 12 February 2025; Vol. 762, c. 6WC.] (Correction) We take that very seriously, which is why we are engaging in dialogue with both the workforce and the owners of the various steel producers here in the United Kingdom. More broadly, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne) alluded to, we want to avoid a significant escalation. We saw retaliatory measures taken under the first Trump Administration.”
“I am happy to give that assurance. I should probably declare an interest as a member of the Community trade union. I can assure the House that trade unions—whether Community, the GMB, Unite or the other representatives of steelworkers—have been a central part of the dialogue that we started in July. Frankly, we inherited a situation in which there had been significant under-investment in steel capability in the United Kingdom for many years. We are backing up that commitment to dialogue with an act of commitment to public funds, and we are doing so in dialogue with the workforce as well as with the companies themselves.”
“In those circumstances, it is right and reasonable to be mindful of the statements that have been made, which I can assure the House that we were, and to undertake analysis, which I can assure the House we are also continuing to review and reach a judgment on. At the same time, we should recognise that the date on which these tariffs come into effect is 12 March. As a consequence, there is a window of opportunity to not only engage with the workforce and the companies to ensure that we better understand exactly what they are looking for in light of these specific measures, but critically, to engage directly with the Trump Administration. That is work to which our ambassador is already turning his mind.”
“There are plenty of opportunities for Ministers to be held accountable in relation to the dialogue that we have started, and that we continue, with steel producers in the United Kingdom. Turning to the hon. Gentleman’s initial point about whether this announcement has come as a surprise, candidly, it has not. However, it is also fair to recognise that the new President has a speciality in generating uncertainty—part of his style of negotiations is creating uncertainty as to what will happen next. As I sought to suggest in my opening answers, we have answers on steel today, but the proclamation that emerged overnight did not give us answers on aluminium.”
“In terms of being willing to make the big fiscal choices, we have committed £2.5 billion of public money since July to support the steel industry, with resources being funnelled in part through the national wealth fund. I can assure my hon. Friend that we have already been willing to put money, as well as commitment, behind the steel industry. He is absolutely right to recognise the strategic significance of this industry, not just on its own terms but much more broadly to the manufacturing capability of the United Kingdom. He has alluded to the risk of trade diversion, given the potential remedial action taken by other trading blocs, so I also want to assure him that we have protections that will remain in place until 2026. There are safeguards in place in relation to trade diversion, as well as the UK’s ability to act independently.”
“In terms of an understanding of Scottish business, again I should probably declare an interest, given that the Glenkinchie distillery is in the Lothian East constituency. Only this morning, I met with Chivas Regal and Diageo, so I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I am fully aware. Certainly, no one party should claim to speak for Scotland, or for Scotland’s businesses. As for the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, it is no secret that I was a remain campaigner and wanted the United Kingdom to stay within the European Union in 2016. I would gently point out to the hon. Gentleman that had his party been successful in its endeavour to break up the United Kingdom in 2014, the direct and immediate consequence of that choice would have been Scotland’s departure from the European Union.”
“I am very happy to give my hon. Friend the assurance that he seeks. We have a comprehensive plan for steel, which, sadly, we have not had in this country for a number of years. That plan is backed up by significant public resources, which again were not available under the previous Government, and we look forward to publishing a comprehensive strategy for steel in the spring of this year.”
“Tempting though it is to indulge in the hypothetical negotiating strategy ventriloquised through the right hon. Gentleman, consistent with the approach that we need to take a considered view of what is emerging—and is still emerging, in the case of aluminium—the responsible thing to do is leave those matters with the good offices of the UK’s ambassador to the United States and the Foreign Secretary.”
“I can assure the House that we are determined to back our steel sector. The Minister for Industry will be at Sheffield Forgemasters tomorrow; as I say, she is meeting representatives of the steel industry today, and the Secretary of State will be meeting representatives over the next 24 hours. We have established a steel council and a comprehensive plan for steel, we have committed significant public resources, and we will publish a comprehensive strategy in the spring of this year. We take steel seriously, which, sadly, was not the case for our predecessors.”
“It is a matter of public record that the Prime Minister has had a couple of warm exchanges with the incoming President-elect of the United States, which I think is entirely right and appropriate. We now have a new UK ambassador, and I pay due tribute to the work of Karen Pierce, his predecessor, who did an exemplary job on behalf of the United Kingdom during the period of transition. It remains an indisputable fact, however, that Howard Lutnick is not yet in office as the US Commerce Secretary, and that Jamieson Greer is not in place as the US trade representative. Those are the individuals through whom these dialogues are normally conducted.”
“In that sense, we have built the relationships, we have established trust, and we are looking forward with a clear-headed sense of national interest to the reset talks that are getting under way this year.”
“I can assure my hon. Friend that we are working on that EU reset, and continue to work on it, through the good offices of my new colleagues in the Cabinet Office. One element of that reset is looking at those linkages and how they can work effectively, and the level of engagement in relation to that reset is significantly ramping up. Again, frankly, there had to be almost confidence-building measures established after the deep betrayal of trust that was felt by our European friends, neighbours and allies—let us remember that a previous Conservative Prime Minister could not even bring herself to acknowledge President Macron as a friend and ally of the United Kingdom.”
“I think the difficulty with the point the hon. Gentleman makes—and I appreciate his constituency interest and the broader interests of Lincolnshire in this—is that other factors need to be recognised and addressed in the steel strategy. There is again, for example, the indisputable fact that we inherited blast furnaces that were increasingly out of date relative to technologies being used elsewhere. There had also been years of neglect in a number of plants in which there is a significant need for both public and private investment. So I respectfully hear the point that the hon. Gentleman makes about electricity prices and general power generation prices in the United Kingdom. The challenge of energy prices is not unique to the United Kingdom, but is felt across the whole of the continent of Europe.”
“My hon. Friend is a doughty defender of the interests of Peterborough and of his constituents, and he is right to recognise that pride in steel making extends beyond Port Talbot, Scunthorpe, historically Motherwell and other locations of significant steel capability. On the specific point he raises, of course there remains a residual power available to individual companies under the Trade Remedies Authority to take action on dumping perceived to be happening. However, I reassure the House that the UK’s steel safeguards do and will remain in place until the end of June 2026, and I hope that offers him some comfort.”
“If the hon. Gentleman has an appetite for trade realism, let us get real: the Prime Minister for whom he worked failed to do a US-UK trade deal. Let us also get real about the fact that the central underpinnings of the party of which he is a member at the time of the Brexit referendum—that we were in a less protectionist world, that we would have a functioning World Trade Organisation system and, indeed, that we would have major trading blocs seeking to take barriers down rather than put barriers up—have all been misplaced. His leader, the now Leader of the Opposition, generously conceded a couple of weeks ago that there was no growth plan following the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU. It is for this Government to clean up the mess that his Government left.”
“I can assure my hon. Friend that we are in regular dialogue with the WTO. I was in touch only this morning with Simon Manley, our exemplary British ambassador in Geneva. We were also very clear at an early stage—since July—that we were backing Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director general of the WTO. I had the great privilege of working with Ngozi when I was the UK governor of the World Bank during a previous era of Labour Government. The UK is committed to standing behind her exemplary leadership of the WTO at an admittedly very challenging time for global trade.”
“While I may not agree with that characterisation of the efficacy of the US President’s actions in recent weeks, it is a matter of record that we stand ready to work with the United States to broaden and deepen our trading and economic relationship. We are significant investors in each other’s countries, and that trading relationship matters. The previous Government abjectly failed to secure the trade deal that they promised—the big promise at the time of the Brexit referendum—but with a clear sense of the national interest, and a willingness to engage with open minds, we are ready to have this conversation with the United States.”
“If one observes the comments made by the Chancellor last night, or by the incoming British ambassador in Washington, it is clear that we are ready to engage in a thoughtful, pragmatic way with the new Administration in Washington, and we want to broaden and deepen the trading relationship. I observe that under the first Trump presidency, bilateral trade between the United States and the United Kingdom increased, and we have ambitions to see that continue.”
“They ensure that the UK is meeting its obligations under international law and provide certainty for regulators and professionals once the provisions in the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement expire at the end of this year. That brings tangible long-term benefits to the United Kingdom, and also means that UK-qualified professionals looking to practise in Switzerland continue to have access to streamlined recognition processes. I commend the regulations to the Committee.”
“The respondents were supportive and officials from my Department have engaged with regulators on the feedback received. The regulations cover professions that are regulated centrally by the UK Government and professions that are regulated at a devolved level by Scotland and Northern Ireland. That approach has been taken after careful consideration and extensive engagement with the devolved Governments. The regulations do not apply to Welsh regulated professions. The Welsh Senedd made regulations implementing the agreement for Welsh regulated professions on 18 November, which will come into force on 1 January 2025. To conclude, the regulations bring into effect the recognition of professional qualifications system contained in the Swiss agreement.”
“As regulated professions, they fall in scope of these regulations and the EEA-EFTA regulations. Therefore, these regulations extend the obligation on the regulator of anaesthesia associates and physician associates to comply with both sets of regulations. I reassure the Committee that, under these regulations, it remains the responsibility of independent regulators to set the standards for their profession and to decide who meets those standards. In accordance with the statutory duty under section 15 of the Professional Qualifications Act, the Department for Business and Trade has carefully consulted regulators about the implementation of the agreement. A formal consultation ran from February to April 2024 and sought regulator views on the implementation, approach and regulations.”
“They prescribe the procedure that regulators must follow in recognising Swiss qualifications. They enable regulators to refuse to recognise Swiss professional qualifications where certain conditions are met, such as an applicant having inadequate English language proficiency. They prescribe compensatory measures that regulators can require a Swiss professional to take in certain circumstances, such as completing an adaptation period. They amend sectoral legislation to enable regulators to meet those requirements where they do not currently have the power to do so. They include specific provisions that apply to the regulators of advocates, barristers and solicitors. Separately, the Department of Health and Social Care has taken forward legislation to regulate anaesthesia associates and physician associates.”
“The Swiss agreement also contains an annex that provides certain Swiss and UK lawyers with a bespoke route to recognition of professional qualifications between Switzerland and the United Kingdom. These regulations amend the EEA-EFTA regulations to implement those additional provisions for Swiss legal professionals. The regulations will come into force on 1 January when the existing recognition of professional qualifications provisions in the UK-Switzerland citizens’ rights agreement expires. That will ensure continuity in the recognition provisions and a smooth transition between the systems for UK regulators and Swiss professionals. I will briefly provide details about the regulations. They place a legal duty on regulators to recognise comparable Swiss qualifications.”
“Those powers were first used in December 2023 when the Government implemented the recognition of professional qualifications provisions of the UK’s free trade agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein through the Recognition of Professional Qualifications and Implementation of International Recognition Agreements (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which I will refer to as the EEA-EFTA—European economic area-European Free Trade Association—regulations. The provisions under the Swiss agreement are similar to those in the UK’s free trade agreement with the EEA-EFTA states. These regulations add Switzerland as a specified state to the EEA-EFTA regulations.”
“The regulations place a legal duty on UK regulators to recognise comparable Swiss professional qualifications and provide regulators with the necessary legal powers to do so. That ensures a smooth and transparent system for Swiss professionals to have their qualifications recognised, which provides certainty for those wanting to work in the UK. In parallel, Switzerland is passing legislation requiring Swiss regulators to recognise UK qualifications, which means that UK professionals benefit from reduced barriers to working in Switzerland. The Government are using powers contained in section 3 of the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 to make these regulations.”
“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Recognition of Professional Qualifications and Implementation of International Recognition Agreements (Amendment) (Extension to Switzerland etc.) Regulations 2024. The regulations were laid in draft before the House on 4 November 2024. I draw the Committee’s attention to the correction slip issued in relation to the draft regulations as they were originally laid. It corrects a minor error in the date of the statutory instrument referred to in the explanatory note, and updates a footnote on page 4 to refer to the Welsh statutory instrument that was made on 18 November 2024. The regulations implement the agreement on the recognition of professional qualifications that was signed by the UK and Switzerland in June 2023.”
“Members understand and recognise the need for the regulations, as the hon. Gentleman set out, and the benefits that they will bring to the UK services trade. I thank hon. Members and commend the regulations again to the Committee. Question put and agreed to .”
“In that sense, whether in relation to the mutual recognition of professional qualifications or other aspects of our regulatory arrangements more broadly, we continue to look carefully at opportunities for UK-Swiss co-operation. On the date of introduction for the Swiss legislation, I do not have that to hand. As I said, Switzerland is passing legislation to require Swiss regulators to recognise UK qualifications to ensure that the benefits are mutual. I will write to the hon. Gentleman about what we understand the Swiss parliamentary timescale to be. As I have emphasised, the regulations continue to uphold the principle of regulator autonomy as set out in the Professional Qualifications Act 2022. My officials have also engaged extensively with regulators and the devolved Governments on the implementation. I trust that hon.”
“On the issue of extending mutual recognition, we will take a phased approach to make sure that we avoid the cliff edge that the hon. Gentleman eloquently described. The hon. Gentleman can rest assured, however, that one of the early negotiations that we have initiated is on a Swiss FTA, which again reflects work that was undertaken under the previous Government. We have looked carefully at the mandate and negotiators have begun that process. When one looks for equivalent countries around the world where there are clear synergies in the character of the economy and the economic opportunities, Switzerland is high on that list.”
“Exactly—and I am getting used to the challenges of being in government, as distinct from in opposition. First, in all seriousness, I thank the hon. Gentleman for what I anticipate will be his support for the measures. He is entirely right to recognise that the work was undertaken under the previous Government and he can rest assured that the lodestar for the incoming Government in the last six months has been continuity where it makes sense in the interests of the United Kingdom economy. In that spirit, I hope that we can find common ground this evening. As I set out, the regulations implement the UK- Switzerland recognition of professional qualifications agreement and require regulators to operate routes to recognition for comparable Swiss professional qualifications in accordance with that agreement.”
“Our approach to trade deals considers the impact on and opportunities for the agricultural sector, along with other sectors of the economy, and, of course, our growth mission. The Government will publish impact assessments to aid the ratification process for new free trade agreements.”
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing his considerable expertise in veterinary science to the Chamber today. We will not compromise on animal welfare standards as we take forward our programme of free trade agreements. Although we might well have approached the negotiations that the previous Government undertook in a different manner, reopening them would certainly create uncertainty, which we genuinely believe would hurt UK business. We are not seeing Australian or New Zealand beef and lamb flood the UK market, and we will continue to monitor trade flows under both those free trade agreements. He makes a very fair and important point about the need to maintain welfare standards.”