It must have been hard enough following my remarks without a break, so I hope that noble Lords do not find it even harder now.
Once an FTA has been negotiated, it will need to be implemented and ratified. I remind the Committee that free trade agreements cannot of themselves change domestic law. If changes to legislation are required, Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise and approve them in the normal way. I hope that this demonstrates that the Government are committed to Parliament being able to scrutinise future trade agreements. I will amplify these comments in a moment.
Regarding the devolved Administrations, international relations, including the negotiation of free trade agreements, are a reserved matter under the devolution settlements. The suggestion made by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, about giving the DAs a formal role would not therefore be appropriate, but as we heard from my noble friend Lord Younger, there are many points of contact between the DAs and the Government on these matters. The UK Government will therefore be acting on behalf of the whole of the UK in free trade agreement negotiations, and our overall principle is to ensure that all parts of the UK benefit from any deal. As a reserved matter, it would not be appropriate to give the devolved Administrations a statutory role, as opposed to an informal role, in international trade negotiations.
Of course, the UK Government recognise that modern trade deals cover an increasingly wide scope and interact with areas of devolved competence. As such, we recognise that the devolved Administrations have an interest in international trade policy and DIT works closely with them to deliver policy that reflects the interests of all parts of the UK. In recognition of the importance of this relationship, we have recently launched a new ministerial forum for trade with the devolved Administrations. This has already met to discuss our approach to FTA negotiations and will meet regularly as negotiations progress.
In line with our commitment, the Government have already published an initial economic assessment for each of the new FTAs we are currently negotiating. Once negotiations have concluded, we will publish an updated assessment based on what has been negotiated. This will be presented to Parliament alongside the final treaty text and an Explanatory Memorandum to aid parliamentarians in their scrutiny role, in addition to the CRaG procedure.
As I have set out, this Bill is not about free trade agreements with countries that the EU did not have an agreement with before 31 January 2020, but, none the less, I trust I have reassured the Committee that the Government are committed to a transparent trade policy and to engaging with Parliament.
Next, I would like to address Amendment 36, which is also in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord Fox. Noble Lords will be aware that despite the previous Bill falling, we have committed to and are delivering on publishing these parliamentary reports on a voluntary basis to assist noble Lords with the scrutiny of agreements. We have provided this additional scrutiny, over and above the statutory framework set out in CRaG, in response to the genuine concerns raised by noble Lords.
While it is of course true that we have not carried forward the amendment from the previous Bill, we have not done so because it is unnecessary. We have adhered to the commitment we gave, as our record demonstrates. We have not required a legislative commitment to see the benefit of these parliamentary reports, which have been invaluable in assisting noble Lords with the scrutiny of continuity agreements. Again, I can confirm that we will continue to publish reports for all continuity agreements yet to be signed.
Turning specifically to Amendment 37, we fully intend to publish parliamentary reports alongside agreements as they are signed. I hope that noble Lords will judge us by our record and accept our commitment—including my personal commitment—in this area.
With regard to Amendment 38, in Committee in the other place, my colleague, the Minister of State for Trade Policy, made the astute comment that
“trade negotiations … have a habit of going down to the wire.”—[Official Report, Commons, Trade Bill Committee, 23/6/20; col. 199.]
The eminent businesspeople and negotiators in this House do not need to be reminded of that fact. Thus, it is possible that we may sign a continuity agreement very shortly before the transition period ends. This may make it difficult to leave a period of 10 sitting days before any SIs are brought forward if we are to avoid a cliff edge in trading relationships with the country in question. However, I assure your Lordships that we will leave as much time as possible for parliamentary scrutiny before regulations are brought forward. Of course, CRaG allows a period of 21 sitting days for agreements to be scrutinised in Parliament before they can be formally ratified, which—I hope and believe—provides an effective period of time for parliamentarians to scrutinise agreements.
Moving to Amendment 41, while the command paper was published under the previous Administration —since then, of course, we have had a general election and secured our exit from the European Union—I hope that noble Lords will recognise that this Government have continued to give Parliament further opportunities to scrutinise our trade agenda effectively. This Government remain committed to the key principles of transparency and ensuring effective scrutiny of our trade policy. That is why we have made our own commitments, which I outlined in reference to Amendment 35. Noble Lords will notice that those commitments repeat many of the commitments made in the 2019 command paper.
The noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, spoke about the role of the committee that he ably chairs: the IAC. I carefully read its report on working practice, and I must say that I found it in the main sensible and pragmatic. I commit that we want to work pragmatically with the IAC going forward so that it can do the job that Parliament has asked it to do. The noble and learned Lord asked for my views on the IAC’s report, given that I was not the responding Minister during the Lords debates on it. As he knows, I welcome his committee’s vital scrutiny work. Frankly, I also welcome the praise specifically for my department’s working practices, which the committee, in its wisdom, advised other departments to follow.
On the point made by my noble friend Lady Fairhead, the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, and the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, we are not just standing still on this. I reassure noble Lords that we are in active discussions with the ITC and the IAC to ensure that we can work together to ensure satisfactory progress for the scrutiny of FTAs. I hope that those discussions will lead to a pragmatic approach that both committees will welcome.
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These discussions include making sure that we allow the committees to produce independent reports before FTAs are laid under CRaG. This is a very important development. It requires us to provide the FTAs to the committees in final form, so that they have time to produce a report before the agreement is laid. This is vital because these agreements are complex and not easily comprehensible. It will be very useful for the committees to go through them beforehand and give your Lordships’ House their view on and appraisal of the agreement. We will work constructively with the ITC and the IAC to allow them time to produce an independent report on the final agreement, aiding parliamentarians’ and the public’s understanding of its potential implications. I hope that my noble friend Lady McIntosh welcomes this.
This goes beyond the bare bones of CRaG but, having listened carefully to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, I am not sure whether he thinks going beyond the bare bones of CRaG is good or bad. I look forward to him clarifying that in his final remarks. I assure my noble friend Lady Fairhead that the powers in the Bill relate to continuity agreements and that new FTAs are likely to require additional legislation to be implemented.
On Amendment 47, in the names of the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, and my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering, as I have already said, parliamentary reports have been voluntarily laid alongside every signed continuity agreement, outlining any significant differences between the signed agreement and the underlying EU agreement, as well as detailed information on trade flows and key imports and exports with trading partners. The Government are eager for your Lordships to make your voices heard as continuity agreements are finalised, signed and laid before this House for scrutiny in a proportionate and productive way.
Ultimately, our continuity agreements seek to replicate the effects of our existing trade agreements in which we formerly participated as an EU member state. The 21 signed continuity agreements demonstrate that we are not going beyond our mandate of continuity. Therefore we believe this requirement to report on agreements retrospectively is unnecessary.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, for the next amendment, Amendment 53. I take this opportunity to reassure the noble Lord that the Government will seek to provide robust and credible evidence to support our assessment of the impact of free trade agreements. In the recently published scoping assessments for the UK-US, UK-Japan, UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand FTAs the Government committed to publishing a monitoring and evaluation framework prior to implementation of those agreements. We also committed to publishing evaluations of these agreements at the appropriate time.
The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Blackburn endorsed the importance of high standards in agreements. The Government completely agree on this. Listening to the right reverend Prelate, he has taken to the ways of your Lordships’ House so smoothly and effectively that I find it hard to believe that his maiden speech was as recently as the Second Reading of the Bill. I congratulate him on the way that he has found his feet in our House so effectively.
Amendment 57 is also from the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara. The Government are committed to the principles of transparency and scrutiny of our free trade agreement negotiations, but that does not mean we can accept a role for Parliament that infringes on the Government’s prerogative power to enter into trade negotiations with third countries. That is a red line for us.
The Government have published negotiating objectives for each of the FTA negotiations we have entered into to date. In addition, for each negotiation we have published an assessment of the strategic case for securing an FTA with that country and an initial economic impact assessment on a potential deal. I believe these documents have provided parliamentarians and the public with a clear understanding of the Government’s reasoning and aims for each of the FTA negotiations.
These positions have been informed by a comprehensive programme of engagement and consultation with a broad range of stakeholders. Furthermore, our strategic and sectoral trade advisory groups have provided expert advice to help shape our trade policy positions.
The Constitution Committee of your Lordships’ House is supportive of our position. Its 2019 report on the scrutiny of treaties stated that providing Parliament with votes on mandates
“would impinge inappropriately on the Government’s prerogative power and limit the Government’s flexibility in the negotiations.”
I think the committee got that absolutely right.
Comparing systems in which legislatures have a role in mandate setting, such as in the US or the EU, ignores the fundamental differences in our constitutional make-up. In the example of the EU, I strongly argue that its scrutiny arrangements reflect the specific and unique structures of the EU and that direct comparison with the UK is unhelpful. I do not believe that the arrangements for parliamentary involvement in EU treaties can or should be the model for parliamentary involvement in UK treaties. The previous process reflected our position as one of 28 EU member states in which the EU Commission negotiated on our behalf. We now need a process that is right for the UK as an independent trading nation and its constitutional arrangements outside the EU. It would be strange if, having left the EU, we thought it necessary to emulate its constitutional arrangements if they are not appropriate for our country. The enhanced scrutiny practices put forward by this Government do this and go well beyond the statutory framework for the scrutiny of treaties under the CRaG Act.
I now turn to the amendment proposed by my noble friend Lord Lansley and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, which seeks to amend Section 21 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act to ensure that where Parliament requests a debate on a trade agreement, Ministers are legally obliged to make it happen. The Government believe that the existing scrutiny measures for continuity trade agreements are proportionate and fair. In light of the debate on the 2017-19 Trade Bill, we added the use of the draft affirmative procedure for regulations made, which was welcomed by DPRRC in its recent report on the Bill.
Your Lordships should be assured that all changes to UK legislation required from these agreements will be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the normal way.
I have listened to noble Lords’ concerns about the role this House and the other place have in relation to trade agreements, but I repeat that the Government believe that our existing CRaG processes already provide an effective and robust framework for parliamentary scrutiny, particularly those that have already undergone comprehensive scrutiny at EU level.
I recognise the concerns which noble Lords have outlined relating to new FTAs with trading partners, such as the USA or Australia, although they are not included in the scope of the Bill. I have already outlined how we have gone beyond the statutory requirements of CRaG. Our continuity agreements already undergo an extensive and well-designed parliamentary scrutiny process. The amendment proposed by my noble friend is well intentioned, and I thank him for the productive discussions we have had, but we believe that the current framework for the scrutiny of continuity agreements under CRaG is both fair and appropriate.
Finally, I shall now speak to Amendment 98 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, and my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering. The amendment seeks to stop most of the provisions of the Trade Bill coming into force unless the UK reaches an FTA with the EU, or the other place explicitly approves leaving without a deal.
The Government have been clear that we are looking to negotiate a trade agreement with the EU like those the EU has previously struck with other friendly countries such as Canada, and those conversations are, as noble Lords will be well aware, ongoing. However, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we will not sacrifice the economic and political independence of the UK and will leave the transition period with an Australia-style trading relationship with the EU if necessary. The Government were elected with a mandate to negotiate with the EU to these ends, and Parliament passed legislation which clearly outlined that there would be no extension to the transition period. It is not for this House to attempt to frustrate the clear instruction this Government have received from the electorate.
Any delay in our ability to implement UK continuity agreements would cause disruption to UK businesses, consumers and international trading partners. Twenty-one agreements have so far been signed and would be unable to come into force, harming UK consumers and businesses. Furthermore, accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement, commonly known as the GPA, will maintain UK businesses’ access to public procurement opportunities, and that too would fail if the amendment were accepted. The Bill also allows the Government to collect data on exporting which will provide the Government with an accurate view of exporting activity across the UK and assist in providing targeted support to businesses in accessing export opportunities.
Before I conclude, my noble friend Lord Lansley asked various questions about the new Japan free trade agreement. I ask him to wait until the Japan FTA and accompanying reports are laid before the
House and the IAC has made its report on it. If he has any outstanding questions after that, I will of course be happy to meet him to discuss them.
The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, compared the UK and Japanese scrutiny systems, stating that we fall short because we do not give Parliament a yes/no vote on the enhanced agreement. With all due respect, I cannot leave those comments unanswered. The noble Lord failed to mention that Japan did not undertake a public consultation or call for input before starting negotiations—we did—and he failed to mention that Japan did not undertake engagement with its Select Committee equivalents during negotiations. We did, and as I previously said, we will continue to do so. In fact, as we heard from the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, we will shortly be sharing this information with the IAC and the ITC so that they can produce an independent report. I am meeting the IAC privately this Monday to take its questions.
This has been a long and rigorous debate, and I hope it has been helpful in clarifying the Government’s position. As I said at the beginning, I believe that if one analyses the Government’s position there is less difference between the Government and Parliament than some noble Lords have said. I hope that I have sufficiently addressed your Lordships’ concerns and therefore urge the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, to withdraw his amendment.