PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Products: Regulation and Safety (21 October 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to foster collaboration between (a) UK regulatory authorities and (b) relevant EU agencies on (i) expertise, (ii) data and (iii) best practices for manufactured goods (A) regulation and (B) safety.

Asked by:
Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat)

This Government values strong UK-EU trading relations and recognises the importance of regulatory cooperation to maximising the benefits from our trade relationship, including ensuring consumer safety. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides a basis for cooperation in respect of manufactured goods. The TCA's sectoral working groups facilitate mutual information exchange and discussion of regulatory developments in motor vehicles and parts, medicinal and organic products. This Government is also committed to advancing discussions on systematic exchange of data on unsafe non-food products as outlined in the TCA and looks forward to exploring further opportunities for UK-EU collaboration.

Answered by:
Mr Douglas Alexander (Labour)
24 October 2024