Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the (1) tax rises, and (2) handling charges, Gibraltar would need to impose under the draft UK–EU Agreement in respect of Gibraltar if it were implemented.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement made by the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories to the House on 26 February, repeated in the House of Lords on 3 March (Official Report, Volume 853, column. 1150-1160), and the draft treaty documents published on the same day. The Noble Lord will have ample opportunity to scrutinise the final text when it is brought before the House in due course. I note that on 4 March the Parliament of Gibraltar unanimously voted to support a motion calling on the UK to ratify the Treaty.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what limit they intend to place on the number of individuals entering the UK under the proposed UK-EU youth mobility scheme.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. This will provide a valuable form of cultural exchange for young Brits and EU citizens with the opportunity to travel, work, study and experience other cultures. The UK and EU agreed ahead of the Summit that any scheme will be subject to a cap. This is what the Common Understanding language means by ‘ensure that the overall number of participants is acceptable to both sides’. Any scheme would create new opportunities for young Brits, while being in line with the Government’s plans to restore control over the immigration system and reduce net migration. The exact details are subject to ongoing negotiations, but any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what upper age limit they intend to impose on the proposed UK-EU youth mobility scheme.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. This will provide a valuable form of cultural exchange for young Brits and EU citizens with the opportunity to travel, work, study and experience other cultures. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped, subject to a visa requirement as well as time-limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters are subject to ongoing negotiation, but any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 2027–28 cost of participating in the Erasmus+ programme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government have now concluded negotiations with the European Commission on the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027. This commitment covers the 2027/28 academic year. Any participation in Erasmus+ into the next Multiannual Financial Framework will need to be agreed in the future and be based on a fair and balanced contribution.
We have secured significantly improved financial terms compared to default arrangements, ensuring a fairer balance between the UK’s contribution to the EU and the number of UK participants who receive funding. We negotiated a 30% discount, securing participation for 2027 at a cost of approximately £570 million, saving UK taxpayers around £240 million while securing the benefits of participation for young people in the UK and across the EU.
The UK will receive most of that money back to distribute amongst UK beneficiaries. UK participants will also have the opportunity to compete for grants from a c.£1 billion central pot directly managed by the European Commission.
The department will report to Parliament the costs arising from our participation, including costs related to the implementation of the programme, in its annual accounts.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the UK of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement with the EU.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has been clear on the potential benefits of a new SPS Agreement – which could add up to £5.1 billion per year to our economy in the long run and increase the volume of UK exports of major agricultural commodities to the EU by 16%. Notes on the methodology of these calculations can be found on gov.uk: Methodology Note: Assessing the long-run growth impact of a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement - GOV.UK [see attached].
However, the Government recognises that beneath these figures the impacts on different sectors are more nuanced. As technical negotiations progress, the Government expects to follow normal processes for any necessary legislative changes and assess impacts accordingly.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the value is of the fishing rights granted to the EU under the 12-year fisheries agreement.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The fisheries access deal announced in May 2025 secured the continuation of existing UK-EU fishing access arrangements. This means continued access for UK vessels to EU waters and retention of the quota uplift the UK secured through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
It is not possible to accurately estimate the value of EU catches in UK waters for 2026-2038, as this depends on annual quota negotiations, catches of non-quota species, and market prices, which fluctuate year on year.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much public money was allocated to the British Business Bank for the (a) 2023-4 and (b) 2024-5 financial years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Public funding for the British Business Bank’s DEL funding, Business As Usual programmes and administration of the Covid-19 loan schemes, for 2023/24 is expected to be up to £735m. The projected figure for 2024/25 is £357m. Any capital gains will be returned to the taxpayer over the course of the investment cycle.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the average cost to the public purse of the (a) capital set-up and (b) revenue for the first five years for the provision of (i) a home, (ii) NHS care, (iii) school places and (iv) other public services for migrants paid below the national average wage.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office has previously estimated the cost of migrants to the UK in terms of NHS care, education and social services (welfare) payments. This analysis did not consider different earnings thresholds, nor did it consider capital and revenue costs of housing, which would be outside the Home Office’s remit.
Home Office analysis can be found in table A4.2 in the Impact Assessment “The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020”: The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 (legislation.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Gridwatch.co.uk figures, for what reason the proportion of imported energy was over 25% on 25 February 2024.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On 25 February 2024, low wind generation in GB combined with high wind generation in Europe supported a price differential with Europe which led to higher imports. Interconnectors import when prices in GB are higher than on the other side of the interconnector.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants on full-time contracts there were in each year since 2019.
Answered by John Glen
National Statistics on the number of full-time and part-time civil servants are published each quarter by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of their Public Sector Employment statistical release. The latest available statistics were published in December 2023 and at Table 8 show the number of full-time civil servants as at 30 September 2023. The next ONS publication is scheduled for release on 12 March 2024 and will show the number of civil servants as at 31 December. Statistics for 2019 and all previous and upcoming releases can be found on the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable