This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Rule out ending the transition period without a deal
The government must absolutely and 100% rule out the possibility of leaving the EU (ending the transition period) without a deal!!! We are still in the middle of Covid-19 and business already affected by that
More details
And no deal means medication shortages!!!!
SO I ask the government to take no deal off the table!!!
Plenty of lives lost to Covid-19 and plenty of people who have lost jobs
So rule out ending the transition period without a deal!!
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 1 December 2020
The UK will not extend the transition period and the deadline to do so has passed. The Government’s priority is to ensure access to medicines and medical products: preparations for this are underway.
The deadline by when an extension could have been agreed, 1 July 2020, has now passed. The transition period ends on 31 December 2020. This is a matter of UK law, and a clear commitment of the 2019 Conservative Manifesto. The Government will not be extending the transition period in any circumstance, as ministers confirmed in Parliament on 5 October.
We left the EU with a deal back in January. Planning for the end of the transition period is well underway – coordinated by the XO Cabinet Committee – to make sure that we are ready to seize the opportunities of being outside the single market and the customs union.
On medical supplies, the Government’s priority is to ensure that patients continue to have access to medicines and medical products they need. The Government is working closely with the pharmaceutical industry, the NHS, and others in the supply chain to ensure that precautions are in place.
To minimise disruption that may occur at the end of the transition period, we have secured freight capacity to safeguard the flow of Category 1 goods such as human and veterinary medicines, medical devices, and clinical consumables regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.
Cabinet Office
This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/329500)
Related activity
Original Government response
The UK will not extend the transition period and the deadline to do so has passed. The Government’s priority is to ensure access to medicines and medical products: preparations for this are underway.
The deadline by when an extension could have been agreed, which was 1 July 2020, has now passed. The Government has been consistently clear that the transition period will end on 31 December 2020, as enshrined in UK law. Not extending the transition period is therefore a matter of the rule of law and a clear commitment of the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto.
We left the EU with a deal back in January. Planning for the end of the transition period is well underway – coordinated by the XO Cabinet Committee – to make sure that we are ready to seize the opportunities of being outside the single market and the customs union.
On medical supplies, the Government’s priority is to ensure that patients continue to have access to medicines and medical products they need. The Government is working closely with the pharmaceutical industry, the NHS, and others in the supply chain to ensure that precautions are in place.
To minimise disruption that may occur at the end of the transition period, we have secured freight capacity to safeguard the flow of Category 1 goods such as human and veterinary medicines, medical devices, and clinical consumables regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.
Cabinet Office
This response was given on 6 November 2020. The Petitions Committee then requested a revised response, that more directly addressed the request of the petition.
Urgent Question asked in House of Commons about the progress of negotiations with the EU
On Monday 7 December there was an Urgent Question to the Cabinet Office on progress of negotiations on the UK’s future relationship with the EU and preparations for the end of the transition period.
You can watch the response from Cabinet Office Minister Penny Mordaunt MP, and further questions on the topic here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/b9d83851-4ca0-43a3-bbdd-a4e94e38766e?in=15:36:50&out=16:49:00
A transcript of the exchange is available here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-12-07
What is an Urgent Question?
If an urgent or important matter arises which an MP believes requires an immediate answer from a government minister, they may apply to ask an urgent question.
Find out more about Urgent Questions here: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/urgent-questions/