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Cabinet Office: Treaties

Asked by Alex BurghartConservativeCabinet OfficeTabled Answered 20 May 2026UIN 431

The question

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has signed any international agreements, including with supranational organisations, that do not have the formal legal status of treaties since July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

The Cabinet Office, on behalf of HMG, have entered into various arrangements with international partners and supranational organisations since July 2024, to facilitate cooperation on shared priorities. Since July 2024, for example, the Government has signed three decisions of the Partnership Council of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (which can be found on Gov.uk - see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/trade-and-cooperation-agreement-governance#partnership-council-decisions) and three decisions of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee (which can be found on Gov.uk- see https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/withdrawal-agreement-joint-committee#decisions).

In line with long-standing practice under successive administrations, these arrangements are not routinely laid before Parliament or published in the UK Treaty Series, as they do not create obligations under international law. However, the Cabinet Office remains committed to transparency and ensures that significant policy commitments are communicated to Parliament through relevant updates or published policy papers where appropriate.

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