Mr. Paul Quinn:

As the Secretary General said, there is no real change to the procurement rules. The trade and co-operation agreement under Title VI deals with public procurement specifically and goes somewhat beyond the Government procurement under the World Trade Organization rules. We do not anticipate substantial issues arising with regard to procurement rules per se, but the challenges in terms of the regulatory environment, the customs environment and rules of origin are already creating issues that are quite perceivable for anybody who does their shopping in any of the UK multiples or sees products coming through there. We see the wrinkles in terms of those arrangements actually starting to arise. They will arise for Government too in terms of challenges in customs declarations and ensuring people are aware of the delays that can occur now at ports.

We have seen some issues, especially on the construction side where, because of some of the challenges, we have seen a slowdown in certain materials that travel either from or through the UK. They are likely to result potentially in increased costs as well as potential delays in terms of slowdowns. Those costs will probably arise from the administration of the customs arrangements more so than anything arising because of tariffs or duties because there is a free trade element to the trade and co-operation agreement. Rules of origin also apply which look into the materials and their origin that flow from the UK. Putting a badge "Made in the UK" or "Made in the EU" requires the fulfilling of certain rules of origin, which means where do all the component parts come from and is it genuinely either a UK product or an EU product? Some of those technicalities are starting to create challenges, ultimately, from a regulatory, customs and rules of origin perspective. Beyond that they are trade issues rather than public procurement matters. We do not anticipate substantial issues arising from a public procurement perspective.