On 16 July the UK Government published its White Paper on the UK internal market, setting out proposals to enshrine a new Market Access Commitment in law at the end of the transition period in December 2020.

The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee and the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee will be considering the proposals and their constitutional implications as part of their ongoing scrutiny of matters related to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. To avoid a duplication the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee decided not to undertake any formal work on the proposals but to keep a watching brief on progress.

On 16 July 2020, the Right Honourable Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and the Right Honourable Simon Hart MP, Secretary of State for Wales, wrote (PDF,123KB) to the Chair of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee and the Chair of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee regarding the launch of the UK internal market White Paper and consultation.

The Chair of the Economy, Skills and Infrastructure Committee responded (PDF, 170KB) on 27 July 2020.

The Chair of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee responded (PDF,255KB) on 30 July 2020.

The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee considered the correspondence at its meeting on 3 August 2020 and the Chair responded (PDF, 221KB) on 7 August 2020.