This week we voted on the second reading of the EU Withdrawal Bill.

The vote was to ensure that our country’s statute book can continue to function at the point at which we leave the European Union.

Without it, we would be approaching a cliff edge of uncertainty which is not in the interests of anyone.This will mean the 30,000 laws remain at the point of Brexit.

There will be no change to the actual law. Our plan is to simply transfer EU law into UK law.

After that Parliament can alter and amend as it sees fit, through proper debate and procedures.

But the Bill is the pragmatic and sensible thing to do, as businesses and individuals need reassurance that there will be no unexpected changes to our laws after exit day, and that is exactly what it provides.

Without it, the country’s statute book simply would not work after Brexit - causing chaos for business, consumers, and investors. Whether you voted for Brexit or not, we need to respect the outcome of the referendum and the Repeal Bill does exactly that, as it delivers what people voted for - control over our own laws.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn still can’t tell us if he supports being in or out of the Single Market – one of the most important issues facing the country to date.

Having changed their position on Europe 13 times, Labour still don’t know what they want for the biggest issue facing our country.

Staying in the Single Market would mean the UK being permanently bound by the EU’s regulations and freedom of movement – a clear failure to deliver on what the British people voted for in June 2016.

Elsewhere, the Government announced yesterday its next steps on public sector pay.

The crucial aim is to ensure that the overall package for public sector workers recognises the vital contribution they make and ensures that we can deliver world class public services, while also being affordable within the public finances and fair to taxpayers as a whole.

We are taking a balanced approach to public spending, dealing with our debts to keep our economy strong, while also making sure we invest in our public services.

The Government recognises that in some parts of the public sector, particularly in areas of skill shortage, more flexibility may be required to deliver world class public services, including in return for improvements to public sector productivity.

That’s why we are accepting the recommendations of the Prison Service Pay Review Body to give staff in prisons a pay increase of 1.7 per cent on average.

We have also agreed to award police officers an additional one per cent per cent non-consolidated pay increase for 2017/18, on top of a one per cent increase in their basic pay.

Ultimately, our public-sector workers are among the most talented and hardworking people in our society.

They, like everyone else, deserve to have fulfilling jobs that are fairly rewarded.

With a strong economy, we can continue to invest in our public services and make these sorts of decision on pay.

You only have to look at our European neighbours where, in many cases, they have had to make huge numbers of public sector workers redundant, to see the impact of not properly managing our nation’s finances.