On 15 January 2021, the House of Commons’ EU Services Sub-Committee launched its inquiry into the future of UK-EU relations on trade in services. The inquiry will examine the impact of the provisions set out in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the UK’s services sector. The service sectors of interest to the Committee’s inquiry include, but are not limited to: financial services; professional and business services (such as legal services, accountancy, auditing; architecture, engineering, advertising, market research, recruitment services); creative industries (including audio-visual services); research and education; and data and digital services.

The Committee is seeking evidence on a number of specific questions including:

  • How will the arrangements in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement shape UK-EU trade in financial services?
  • The Joint Declaration on Financial Services Regulatory Cooperation sets out that both sides seek to establish structured regulatory cooperation on financial services. What form should this dialogue take?
  • Given the plans to delegate more powers to financial regulators, what form of Parliamentary oversight of these regulators would be appropriate?

The Committee invites interested individuals and organisations to submit written evidence to the inquiry by 5 February 2021.