Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Deferred
Paragraph: 30
We are concerned that the statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) is not yet operational...
Recommendation
We are concerned that the statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) is not yet operational and we urge the UK Government to set up the TAC as soon as possible. The UK Government intends to allow the TAC to scrutinise the final text of the UK-Australia free trade agreement (FTA), but this may occur too late to enable effective Parliamentary scrutiny of the agreement. To improve scrutiny of future FTAs, the TAC’s report should be published alongside the final text, impact assessment and explanatory memorandum.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states it is still considering the extensive recommendations from the Trade and Agriculture Commission and will publish its response when ready, without committing to a specific timeline for setting up the statutory body or publishing its reports alongside future FTA texts.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
30
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The TAC’s independent advice will be published to inform Parliamentarians as they scrutinise an FTA in advance of ratification, under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG). This is in addition to the enhanced arrangements that the Government has put in place, including publishing an independently scrutinised impact assessment of the deal and allowing time for the relevant Select Committees to produce a report on the FTA.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗