Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on putting in place reciprocal arrangements allowing exemptions from visa requirements for UK citizens to perform short-term paid work in EU countries in return for similar exemptions for EU citizens coming to the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) already includes measures for short-term business visitors, who can perform a list of 11 activities without requiring a work-permit, subject to a limited number of Member State reservations. EU Member States may allow more activities without a work-permit than those specified in the agreement. This will vary country to country.
Visa-free travel is not usually part of Free Trade Agreements, although the UK and EU both allow visa-free visits in their domestic laws. EU nationals can visit the UK for up to 6 months and perform a wide range of business activities (which can be found under the ‘Permitted Activities’ of the Immigration Rules). UK nationals can visit the EU for 90 days in every 180 days and also perform a range of visitor activities, although these will vary from Member State to Member State.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that UK-based mountain tourism businesses are not prevented from continuing their activities in the EU unless they replace their UK guides with guides from an EU country.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Withdrawal Agreement protects UK nationals who live or are a frontier worker in an EU Member State at the end of the Transition Period. Those who have had a professional qualification recognised under the EU legislation listed in the Withdrawal Agreement will keep the right to practise the profession in the Member State in which they live or work. This includes many professions in scope of the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive such as engineering and accounting.
As of 1 January 2021, UK-qualified professionals who wish to supply services in the EU should seek recognition for their qualifications using the national rules in EU Member States. Professionals should check the European Commission’s Regulated Professions Database to find out if their profession is regulated in the state in which they are seeking to work. They should then contact the single point of contact for that country to find out how to get their professional qualification recognised. Alternatively, they can seek advice from the UK Centre for Professional Qualifications (UK NARIC) to find out which regulatory or professional body they should contact.
The UK-EU TCA provides a framework under which the UK and the EU may agree Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on the recognition of professional qualification covering the UK and all 27 EU Member States. Once an arrangement is adopted under the TCA, UK professionals will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition for their professional qualifications within EU Member States.
Arrangements are implemented on a profession-by-profession basis and depend upon reciprocal cooperation from both the UK and EU Member States. The framework enables UK and EU professional bodies or authorities to make recommendations on MRAs to the Partnership Council. Once an arrangement has been adopted, a professional qualified in the UK (e.g. an engineer) will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition of their qualifications within an EU Member State.
The Government continues to engage with stakeholders in the tourism sector to hear their priorities for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Officials are currently engaging with the tourism trade bodies, including the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) to gather feedback on priority regulators and qualifications for the tourism sector.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on (1) the activities, and (2) the livelihoods, of UK professional international mountain leaders, and in particular those whose mountain tours pass through several EU countries.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Withdrawal Agreement protects UK nationals who live or are a frontier worker in an EU Member State at the end of the Transition Period. Those who have had a professional qualification recognised under the EU legislation listed in the Withdrawal Agreement will keep the right to practise the profession in the Member State in which they live or work. This includes many professions in scope of the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive such as engineering and accounting.
As of 1 January 2021, UK-qualified professionals who wish to supply services in the EU should seek recognition for their qualifications using the national rules in EU Member States. Professionals should check the European Commission’s Regulated Professions Database to find out if their profession is regulated in the state in which they are seeking to work. They should then contact the single point of contact for that country to find out how to get their professional qualification recognised. Alternatively, they can seek advice from the UK Centre for Professional Qualifications (UK NARIC) to find out which regulatory or professional body they should contact.
The UK-EU TCA provides a framework under which the UK and the EU may agree Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on the recognition of professional qualification covering the UK and all 27 EU Member States. Once an arrangement is adopted under the TCA, UK professionals will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition for their professional qualifications within EU Member States.
Arrangements are implemented on a profession-by-profession basis and depend upon reciprocal cooperation from both the UK and EU Member States. The framework enables UK and EU professional bodies or authorities to make recommendations on MRAs to the Partnership Council. Once an arrangement has been adopted, a professional qualified in the UK (e.g. an engineer) will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition of their qualifications within an EU Member State.
The Government continues to engage with stakeholders in the tourism sector to hear their priorities for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Officials are currently engaging with the tourism trade bodies, including the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) to gather feedback on priority regulators and qualifications for the tourism sector.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications; and what plans they have to ensure that UK Mountain Professionals will benefit from Mutual Recognition Agreements.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides a framework under which the UK and the EU may agree Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on the recognition of professional qualification covering the UK and all 27 EU Member States. Once an arrangement is adopted under the TCA, UK professionals will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition for their professional qualifications within EU Member States.
Arrangements are implemented on a profession-by-profession basis and depend upon reciprocal cooperation from both the UK and EU Member States. The framework enables UK and EU professional bodies or authorities to make recommendations on MRAs to the Partnership Council. Once an arrangement has been adopted, a professional qualified in the UK (e.g. an engineer) will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition of their qualifications within an EU Member State.
The Government continues to engage with stakeholders in the tourism sector to hear their priorities for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Officials are currently engaging with the tourism trade bodies, including the British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) to gather feedback on priority regulators and qualifications for the tourism sector.
The government will provide help and guidance to UK regulatory authorities and professional bodies to help them benefit from these provisions as well as other recognition paths. Where visas apply, our agreement with the EU contains measures that will help ensure processes are as prompt and smooth as possible.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether self-employed musicians from the EU coming to the UK on a regular basis can do so under Permitted Paid Engagement; and if not, what plans they have to make arrangements to facilitate such visits.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Permitted Paid Engagement visitor route allows professionals in several sectors, including musicians, to enter the UK for up to one month to undertake permitted paid engagements, where they have been invited by a UK-based organisation and without the need to apply through the sponsored work routes.
Whilst there is no formal limit on how many times a visitor can enter the UK under this route, decision makers will consider whether any repeat use is for temporary work; the applicant’s main place of employment is overseas and they do not intend to live in the UK through frequent or successive visits.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Admission Temporaire Carnets will be required for portable musical instruments carried by musicians for professional purposes when travelling (1) between the UK and the EU, and (2) between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
ATA carnets are an option for moving goods temporarily between the UK and the EU; Temporary Admission is another. Whether to use an ATA carnet is generally a commercial decision based on cost effectiveness and the individual’s or business’s circumstances. A carnet is generally not necessary for musicians travelling between GB and NI or between GB and the EU with accompanied instruments (carried or taken with the individual in personal baggage or a vehicle). In this case a person can make a “declaration by conduct” which is simply the act of moving through a ‘Green Channel’ at a port or airport.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to enable UK orchestras to continue to use (a) specialist UK-based hauliers, or (b) their own trucks, to transport musical instruments across multiple EU countries, and (2) to negotiate with the EU an exemption to barriers of the movement of goods for cultural purposes.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) between the UK and the EU allows UK hauliers to undertake up to 2 additional laden journeys, cross-trade or cabotage, within the EU after a laden international journey from the UK, with a maximum of 1 cabotage movement outside Ireland. These rules will also apply to specialist hauliers, such as hauliers who carry equipment for musicians and other performers, even when using their own truck.
Our assessment is that the TCA will allow the vast majority of haulage operations that were being undertaken by UK hauliers before the end of the transition period. However, UK operators will not be allowed to undertake more than 2 movements within the EU before returning to the UK. This issue was discussed in detail as part of negotiations, but the EU was unwilling to agree more flexible arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Carillion's financial liabilities, including retentions, to its supply chain and other creditors at the time of its collapse; and when they plan to make the final figures for such liabilities available.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Official Receiver, liquidator of the Carillion group companies, confirms that the total liabilities of the group recorded at the time of the winding-up order in January 2018 was £5.9 billion, of which £1.7 billion was due to trade creditors. No separate figure for retentions is available. Claims from creditors totalling some £7 billion have been received but some debts are due on a joint and several basis and recorded in more than one liquidation.
The Official Receiver first reported information relating to liabilities to the companies’ creditors in 2018, as required under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986, and has provided further updates to the creditors in the course of the liquidation. Further reports will be issued in the event of any significant developments in the liquidation.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of apprentices in England leaving apprenticeships early during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of (1) furlough, and (2) redundancy, broken down by industry sector.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We are committed to supporting apprentices to safely continue with, and complete, their apprenticeship programmes during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have introduced flexibilities to enable furloughed apprentices to continue with their apprenticeship training and undertake end-point assessments wherever possible. We have also taken significant steps to support apprentices who suffer redundancy.
We launched the Redundancy Support Service for Apprentices which provides clear, accessible advice and guidance to individuals, as well as a vacancy sharing scheme to help apprentices find new opportunities with employers. Over 1,200 employers have submitted opportunities to the vacancy sharing service for redundant apprentices. We have also amended legislation to enable more apprentices to complete their apprenticeship in the event of redundancy.
Where it is not possible and practicable for the apprentice to continue training, a break in learning can be used to allow the apprentice to return to learning at a future date. Our guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-apprenticeship-programme-response.
The department does not collect data on furloughed and redundant apprentices by industry sector.
From 30 July 2020, employers have been able to record on the apprenticeship service if an apprenticeship has ended due to a redundancy. Our collected data on 1 December 2020 shows that 1,360 apprenticeships have ended due to redundancy since August 2020. This figure does not include all apprenticeship redundancies as not all non-levy employers are currently using the service. Further breakdown of data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority Government Construction Strategy 2016–20, published in March 2016, whether they are on course to achieve the forecasted £1.7 billion efficiency saving predicted to be promoted through best practice in construction procurement and delivery; and how any such savings have been so far achieved.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government has achieved the efficiency saving set out in the Government Construction Strategy 2016-20 and at the end of March 2020 had recorded over £1.7 billion savings. This has been enabled by: improving government’s capability as a construction client; developing digital capability in design and construction; improving transparency for industry by publishing the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline; and developing new models and approaches to procurement. It has led to efficiency savings being made through volume and margin reductions, rate discounts, de-scoping of projects and departmental reforms.
The Government has also recently published its Construction Playbook which aims to further improve how construction projects are assessed, procured and delivered.