I know that people many people, on all sides of the debate, will be anxious about the EU Trade negotiations as they enter the very final stages.

By way of update, as I write this, the Prime Minister has spoken to the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and agreement on a trade deal has not yet been reached. However, both sides have agreed that it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile and continue negotiations in order to see if an agreement can be reached even at this late stage.

No matter the outcome of negotiations the UK will leave the transition period at the end of December with or without a further agreement and the Government is confident that we will prosper as an independent nation.

The UK was always due to leave the single market and customs union at the end of the year and so there is no change in this regard. I appreciate that businesses will also have been anxious about preparing for this period of chance and anyone seeking further information on preparations they may need to undertake can visit www.gov.uk/transition for the most up to date information and advice from Government.  Additional help and support is also available regarding grants to help companies manage new customs arrangements, on Trader Training, IT Training and Recruitment, and Co-Funded Training Project https://www.customsintermediarygrant.co.uk/grants-available.

Fiona Bruce MP