Britain is "very close" to agreeing the details of an implementation period with the European Union for its transition out of the bloc, a junior minister has revealed.
Britain has said it will adhere to EU regulations for a time-limited period after it leaves the European Union in March 2019, and hopes the details of this transition, or implementation, period, will be finalised at a summit with the EU on March 22-24.
"We recognise how important it is to secure the deal on the implementation period as soon as possible. I want to stress that we are very close to a deal at this time," Brexit minister Robin Walker said in a speech at the Institute of Directors in London.
Britain says the implementation period will give businesses certainty heading into next year, as the rest of Britain's future relationship with the EU is yet to be agreed upon.
A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier that Britain was still confident it could reach agreement with the EU on a transition period after Brexit at the EU summit this month.
Britain has said it expects the transition period to last around two years after its departure date, although the European Union has said it should end earlier, on December 31, 2020.
Meanwhile, efforts to break the Brexit deadlock between May's government and the Scottish and Welsh administrations will continue this week, Downing Street said.
Whitehall, Holyrood and Cardiff Bay are at loggerheads over how to handle the repatriation of powers from Brussels following Brexit.
UK ministers are tabling amendments to their Brexit bill to deal with the issue despite opposition from the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
But Downing Street insisted the UK Government wanted to reach an agreement and Mrs May is set for talks with Scottish and Welsh first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones on Wednesday.
"This is a very important piece of legislation for delivering a smooth Brexit and we continue to engage with the devolved administrations to reach agreement on this," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
"What we are focused on is reaching agreement, that's where our intention is."
The UK Government has named 24 devolved policy areas where it wishes to retain power temporarily in the wake of Britain's exit from the bloc.
These include areas such as agriculture, fisheries, food labelling and public procurement.
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