Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish a summary of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' recent meeting with Benny Gantz.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 6 March, following his meeting with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz. The Foreign Secretary made clear the steps Israel must take to increase aid into Gaza, and the UK's deep concern about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress she has made on trade discussions with Switzerland.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since launching trade negotiations with Switzerland in May 2023, the UK has held four rounds of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement. The fourth round took place from 4 to 8 March 2024. Discussions were productive, provisionally closing the chapter on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This will help UK SMEs expand their operations more easily into the Swiss market.
The fifth round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in early summer where we will look to make further positive progress.
We continue to keep Parliament and the public informed through regular parliamentary and GOV.UK updates.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of re-introducing tax-free shopping for international visitors on retail businesses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government published its next steps on tax-free shopping in the Spring Budget 2024 which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2024/spring-budget-2024-html.
The OBR published a review of the original 2020 costing of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 6 March, with a follow up supplementary document published on 11 March, which is available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/VAT-RES-costing-review.pdf.
The government welcomes further submissions in response to the OBR’s findings.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which electricity interconnector projects (a) have received approval and (b) are awaiting approval; and what the megawatt capacity is of each proposed project.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem is responsible for awarding regulatory approval to electricity interconnector projects in Great Britain. There are two main routes to regulatory approval, through the awarding of a cap and floor regime, or a merchant route. Including both routes, Ofgem has given approval to the following projects:
Ofgem is assessing a selection of projects that applied for regulatory approval through the third cap and floor application window. These results are interim and are being consulted upon. The final decision will be made in summer 2024 by Ofgem. The projects that are awaiting final regulatory decisions are:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many gigawatt hours of electricity was produced domestically in the last 12 months.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Figures for UK electricity generation are published in Energy Trends table 5.1, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends. Provisionally, in 2023, UK generators produced 285,606 GWh of electricity.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's policy is on the future capacity of new electricity interconnectors in (a) 2025, (b) 2030 and (c) 2040.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As of March 2024, Great Britain has 9.8GW interconnection capacity in operation. A further 1.9 GW of interconnection is in construction, with 0.5GW expected to be operational by 2025. Anticipated interconnection capacity by 2025 is therefore approximately 10.3GW.
In 2020, the Government set an ambition to realise at least 18GW of interconnection by 2030; this was reaffirmed in 2023.
Two additional interconnectors, totalling 3.2GW, have recently received positive interim regulatory decisions from Ofgem. If progressed, Great Britain will be on track for 13.1GW of interconnection capacity by 2030, and 14.9GW by 2031.
The Government will provide more information on interconnection post-2030 in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many electricity interconnectors are operational; and what the megawatt capacity is per interconnector.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great Britain currently has nine operational interconnectors, listed alongside their deployed capacity:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the average transmission network costs for (a) inter connectors and (b) domestic generators of electricity in the last 12 months.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Electricity System Operator has published its “Final Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) Tariffs for 2023/24” document, which details that interconnectors are exempt from transmission charges, and the average transmission network tariff for generators is £12.45/kW.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of threatening calls that were made to schools in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the UK in the last 12 months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Schools in England do not have a legal requirement to report to the department threats that are received via phone calls. However, schools are expected to have policies and procedures in place to handle these situations. The procedures may include reporting threats to local authorities and the police, this depends on the nature and severity of the threat. Schools may also choose to inform the relevant authorities as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and security of students and staff.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
What steps she is taking to promote energy self-sufficiency in the UK.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are investing in homegrown renewable energy and recently announced the biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years. We are also ensuring sustained oil & gas production through annual licencing rounds under the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.