“What recent discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on the attack on Jimmy Carol in Benidorm.”
Answering Minister
the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Answer from Hansard
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Chris Ward)
As you are aware, Mr Speaker, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office is at a funeral today and is therefore unable to attend this session, so he has asked me to reply on his behalf. This Government are determined to deliver a closer relationship with the EU. As part of that, we are negotiating a bold SPS agreement, the potential benefits of which are huge: reducing unnecessary checks at the border, cutting costs for businesses of around £200 per shipment and, in the long run, boosting the UK economy by around £5 billion a year. We have started negotiations and hope to have them concluded by early 2027. This is just one example of this Government filling in the holes left by the Conservatives.