Sir John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): Could we make a study of essential technologies where dependence on China would leave us very vulnerable and then have a strategy for developing those at home or with our allies?

The Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Dominic Raab): My right hon. Friend is right, particularly in relation to 5G, but there are the other areas, and that is exactly what we are doing.

The government has recently issued a White Paper setting out how the UK’s single market and customs union will work as we leave the EU’s single market and customs union.

The legal powers for our single market stem from the original laws and terms of the Union, and from the removal of the EU powers under the EU Withdrawal Act. The White Paper reminds us of the fundamental principles of the UK market, which rests on the principle that any company can supply goods and services throughout the UK. High standards will be maintained by UK laws and regulations.

The government proposes “enshrining the principle of mutual recognition into law” ensuring regulations are recognised across the UK. It also wishes to repeat in law the principle of non discrimination so companies can trade freely throughout the UK.

These issues will be contested by the SNP. Ever keen to bind us into common rules and laws with the EU in the name of their single market, they will doubtless oppose similar rules and regulations at UK level. Given their belief that they needed the common rules to carry on selling into the EU, they should be more worried about their ability to sell into the rest of the UK and grateful for legal reassurance offered by the Union government. Scotland sells more to the rest of the UK than to the rest of world together and more than to the whole EU of course.

The government needs to ask how much legislation it actually needs to continue these trading practises and principles, that pre dated our membership of the EU.

The government is offering more powers to devolved Administrations as we reclaim powers from the EU. As the White Paper says they will respect devolution, ensuring the devolved administrations “receive powers over many more policy areas than they currently hold as part of the EU, whilst ensuring that all intra UK trade remains frictionless”. There will be transfers of power in 160 policy areas, whilst ensuring common frameworks to keep the single market together.

How much further would you go with devolution? How should the government respond to an SNP that wishes to use these issues to drive a wedge into the Union?

The government has announced the National Funding formula figures for schools and constituencies. These figures tell us how much money the government has allocated per pupil and per school. Councils provide services to local schools and have some powers over the actual payments.

The Wokingham constituency is to get a 5.2% increase in cash , bringing the total to £87.16m. Per pupil funding averages £5.544 compared to a national minimum of £5150 for each secondary pupil, and £ 4364 compared to a national minimum of £4000 for each primary pupil. These figures are averages for schools in both the West Berkshire and Wokingham parts of the constituency.

There is also extra money for schools to allow catch up for the missed weeks of teaching for many pupils owing to the lock downs. This will be £80 per pupil.

I have today received this news from the Maiden Erlegh Trust:

20 July 2020

Dear Mr Redwood

At the start of this academic year, Maiden Erlegh Trust applied to open a new special free school for 150 children with complex special educational needs from Year 1 to Year 13. We are delighted to announce that the Department for Education (DfE) has approved our application to open Oak Tree School from 2022.

This is an exciting project, developed alongside Brighter Futures for Children, Reading Borough Council and Wokingham Borough Council, which will add much needed local places for SEND children the local area. We must also thank colleagues from the Trust and Cranbury College who have been instrumental in developing the vision and the bid itself.

The approval of our application is a huge validation of the quality of what we do and the values that underpin our work. It is also a strong endorsement of each any every one’s contribution to the high standards of care, education, professional development and governance that Maiden Erlegh Trust provides. We do not underestimate the responsibility involved in developing a new school and have always been clear that we would not take on any project which may undermine work elsewhere. We are confident that we have the capacity and expertise, and partners, to ensure Oak Tree School is a success.

We look forward to working with you over the coming months to ensure the success of Oak Tree School, and would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to you to visit one, or all, of our schools to see first-hand the work we do. We would also be pleased for the opportunity to talk you through our plans for Oak Tree School in more detail.

If you have any questions about the project or would like to be involved further, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Nick Jones Mary Davies

Chair of Maiden Erlegh Trust Chief Executive Officer

I have received copies of a couple of lobby letters being sent round asking me to support proper Parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals. Let me put minds at rest. Parliament has debated trade more thoroughly and more often in the last four years than in the four decades of our membership of the EU.

Parliament is debating trade yet again today as we continue our scrutiny of the government’s legislative framework for our post EU trade policy. We were never offered primary legislation or extensive scrutiny of the many tariffs and rules imposed during our membership of the EU. There was of course little point in Parliament debating the tariffs and controls imposed on us during those years, as they resulted from directly acting regulations of the Commission, or from Directives decided by qualified majority vote which we might have lost or agreed to reluctantly.

Any future trade deal will be discussed, examined and debated extensively by Parliament. It may well need legislation which will have to go through both Houses with more extensive scrutiny and with votes for those who dislike any such Agreement. There is no need today to vote for an amendment which requires more scrutiny as there will be more scrutiny. It is not a good idea for Parliament to try to fix its own future agenda in law. The truth is if a majority of MPs want something to be debated or wish to stop something the government is proposing, they will do so. Governments can only enter trade treaties or make other decisions all the time they command a majority. To continue to command such a majority they need to persuade enough MPs on each measure that they deserve support.

Some rightly argue we need high animal welfare standards. One of the advantages of coming out of the EU is we can set higher standards, as we were usually arguing for higher standards within the EU against considerable resistance from some countries. It took longer than we wanted to improve conditions for hens, and to ease veal crate conditions for example. It is strange his sone people think it is both critical we have a Free Trade Agreement with the EU and equally critical we do not have one with the USA. The truth is FTAs with both could be helpful if they are good deals, but we can trade without one If necessary as we have had to with the USA for all our time in the EU.