Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount that needs to be paid to railway ticketing staff for redundancy payments as a result of railway ticket office closures; and what estimate they have made of annual payments that will be required to paid as compensation benefits.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Whilst it is our expectation that no currently staffed station should be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, it is for train operators to decide on their staffing arrangements at each of the stations from which they operate services, so they can best meet the needs of passengers. As part of this train operators will discuss employment matters with trade unions as part of their own collective bargaining processes.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the amount of electrical power that will be required to decarbonise UK industry, and (2) where that power will be required in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Analysis carried out for the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework found that industrial electricity demand in 2050 could range between 85 and 115 Terawatt hours depending on resource and energy efficiency, and fuel switching choices between electricity and hydrogen. This range builds on the two scenarios presented in the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, Annex 4.
This analysis will evolve over time and continues to be used to inform networks policy, including future regional industrial demand for electricity.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the visit to the UK by Bakhtiyor Saidov, the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, on 24 July, what priority areas were put forward in discussion by (1) Uzbekistan, (2) the UK; and when they anticipate that a return visit will take place to Uzbekistan by the Foreign Secretary or another Secretary of State.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary met Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov on 24 July to discuss how to advance our interests together, and how we can build stronger cooperation. The UK is committed to working with Uzbekistan across our many shared priorities: security, trade, human rights, climate and the war in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary's travel plans over the next year are yet to be decided, however he is committed to increasing ties with Uzbekistan. The Minister for Europe and Central Asia, Leo Docherty, visited Uzbekistan on 6 June and has since visited the four other Central Asian Republics.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to update the Integrated Review Refresh 2023 on a quarterly basis, given the evolving policy and geopolitical circumstances.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no plans for a fixed schedule of updates for the Integrated Review Refresh 2023. However, the Government will regularly review the overall strategy to ensure it is keeping pace with the evolving international environment.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the factors contributing to the increase from the previous year’s collections in customs duty revenue as published in HMRC accounts for 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
As set out in HMRC published accounts, 2021/2022 total customs duty was c.£4.8billion and c.£5.5billion in 2022/2023. This represents an increase of c. £0.7billion in duty collected.
The collection of customs duty revenue depends on a range of factors, such as the customs duty rates applied, overall volumes of imports, and the value of those goods imported.
His Majesty's Government will continue to monitor the collection of customs duty revenue.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what policy amendments they anticipate to ensure that the UK Single Trade Window complies with prevailing regulations; and when trade bodies will have an opportunity to engage with them on this matter.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government recognises that for the Single Trade Window to be successful it must meet users’ different needs and the importance of engagement with stakeholders from across the wider border industry, including trade bodies. Significant consultation, user research and engagement have already taken place and will continue as policy design and delivery progress.
We have engaged with trade representatives, industry and border experts, intermediaries and businesses of all sizes including SMEs, via a 2021 discussion paper detailing key STW policy and design choices, a 2022 public consultation on STW features and the draft Border Target Operating Model, published in April 2023. In addition to receiving numerous detailed written responses, we have conducted extensive follow-ups including the commissioning of independent qualitative research via interviews with small businesses and hosting multiple stakeholder events attended by key industry participants.
We will provide further detail on the Single Trade Window, including plans for future engagement with stakeholders, in the final version of the Border Target Operating Model, which we hope to publish soon. We will continue to use the feedback we receive from our ongoing industry engagement and detailed user design activity to ensure that the Single Trade Window complies with all prevailing regulations and balances the needs of all stakeholders.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what risk mitigation strategies they have in place to ensure that the UK Single Trade Window project stays within the set parameters of scope, budget, and delivery timelines.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
There is significant governance in place to ensure the Single Trade Window (STW) Programme stays within the set parameters of scope, budget and delivery timelines.
The STW will be delivered through strategic releases over several years. This iterative approach will allow regular reviews of delivery against scope, budgets and timelines throughout the Programme’s lifetime and will allow for early escalation and resolution of risks and issues.
Comprehensive internal governance is in place to achieve this. An assurance function within the STW Programme will ensure that functionality developed and released by the Programme’s technical delivery partner delivers the agreed scope and requirements.
In addition to internal Programme governance, the Government’s normal scrutiny through HMRC, HM Treasury, Cabinet Office and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) will apply.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government with which government departments are collaborating with HMRC working to ensure efficient and seamless movement of goods through the UK Single Trade Window.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Government departments with a direct interest in the UK border are collaborating on the design and operation of the UK Single Trade Window and include those listed below. As delivery progresses, the STW Programme may engage with other departments and agencies with an interest in the Single Trade Window.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to encourage frontier and emerging market countries to adopt environmental, social and governance standards for attracting investment into those countries and to safeguard financial returns.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports globally consistent Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards through the work being led by the International Sustainability Standards Board. The UK also works through our Development Finance Institution, British International Investment (BII), which plays an important role in implementing ESG standards. BII for example has a policy on Responsible Investing which sets out the environmental, social and business integrity requirements (ESG) that BII Investees are expected to meet after an investment is made.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reformed HGV levy on logistics businesses operating Euro VI HGVs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government reformed the HGV levy in February 2019 to incentivise vehicle operators to move towards newer, cleaner, Euro VI vehicles to reduce emissions from HGVs and improve air quality. Euro VI rates were reduced by up to 10% and rates for other vehicles increased by 20%, benefitting logistics businesses operating Euro VI HGVs.
The levy was suspended in August 2020 to support the haulage sector and aid COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts. The suspension provided the opportunity to consider further reforms to the levy. Following public consultation in 2022, a new reformed levy will come into effect in August 2023 with a revised structure and with rates on average around 20% lower than they were before the suspension.
The consultation included analyses of the impacts of the changes, although no changes were proposed relating to retaining a differential between Euro VI and other vehicles.