Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that UK fishing businesses are able to gain access to EU markets with minimal delays arising from customs procedures.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra is working with other Government departments, industry and EU authorities to ensure smooth trade flow and minimise disruption at the border. To do so, we have established a twice-weekly seafood exports working group to identify issues and resolve across Government. To further support businesses Defra has developed a support package of guidance and training with HMRC, including an online journey that guides fish exporters through each step of the export journey.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the challenges facing the British pig industry; and what steps the Government is taking to support pig farmers in the Torridge and West Devon constituency.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I am very much aware that the pig sector is currently facing a number of challenges due to Covid-19 and global trading conditions. I will be hosting a roundtable with key industry stakeholders to discuss these challenges and will continue to work with the pig industry to address them.
The Government has made available financial assistance via a number of Covid-19 HM Treasury schemes. These can be accessed by the pig sector and we encourage companies impacted by Covid-19, including those in Torridge and West Devon, to investigate if any of these schemes are appropriate for their needs.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support small business owners that receive their income primarily through dividend payments rather than salary.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMRC are not able to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources, so do not have a clear mechanism through which to support dividend income from an individual’s own company, without also supporting dividend income from other investments. Dividends are taxed at a low rate and are paid in respect of the individual’s role as a shareholder in their own business. It would not be right therefore for the Government to reimburse shareholders’ dividend income.
However, individuals paying themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme, including salaried company directors, are able to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), subject to their abiding by the requirements of the scheme. Those who pay tax on their trading profits through Income Tax Self-Assessment may instead be eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The SEISS will provide grants to those who are self-employed, or members of partnerships, worth 80% of their trading profits/partnership trading profits, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. SEISS is available to those who generate majority of their income from self-employment and who earn less than £50k.
Small business owners may also benefit from a range of other support measures including:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the increased costs that local authorities will incur as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
I have engaged closely with councils from across the country, and across different tiers, since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. This new allocation is based on our latest and best assessment of the distribution of additional Covid-19 pressures. We have now provided over £3.2 billion to councils in England to support local authorities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending further support to the hospitality, leisure, and tourism industries if the current suspension of commercial activity continues beyond June 2020.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
During this difficult time the Treasury recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on businesses, including important industries such as hospitality, leisure and tourism.
That is why the Government has announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses to protect against the current economic emergency. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, a business rates holiday, grants to smaller businesses, and a package of government-backed and guaranteed loans through the Coronavirus Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS). Together these schemes ensure almost all viable UK businesses can apply for a government backed loan.
The government will not be able to protect every single job or save every single business, but these measures will support millions of families, businesses and self-employed people to get through this and emerge on the other side both stronger and more united.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of consultant neurologists in the NHS.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department does not hold this information. National Health Service workforce statistics published by NHS Digital show that the full time equivalent number of consultant neurologists employed by the NHS in England has increased by 30% between September 2010 and December 2017:
FTE | Consultant Neurologists |
September 2010 | 589 |
September 2011 | 610 |
September 2012 | 651 |
September 2013 | 689 |
September 2014 | 732 |
September 2015 | 756 |
September 2016 | 732 |
September 2017 | 766 |
December 2017 | 764 |
Source: NHS Digital
Health Education England is responsible for assessing the future need of the NHS at a national level in order to ensure sufficient supply of doctors across all grades and specialties. However, data on the number of trainees entering neurology is not routinely published.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of culled badgers are tested for bovine tuberculosis.
Answered by George Eustice
Badgers removed under licence between 2013 and 2015 were not routinely tested for TB.
In 2013, four badgers removed were tested at the specific request of landowners. The tests were carried out privately by independent veterinary surgeons and one badger was confirmed to be infected with TB. This information is publicly available: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323530/RFI_6489.pdf.
In 2016 we initiated development of a badger TB surveillance programme in nine cull areas in the High Risk Area of England. A report on the results from tested badgers is publicly available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-surveillance-in-wildlife-in-england-2016-to-2017.
In 2017, 84 badger carcasses from one cull area were submitted for TB testing as part of a research project to develop and validate novel techniques for diagnosing TB in badgers. A further nine carcasses from a different cull area were also submitted for TB testing as part of a commercial collaboration. No results from these tests are yet available.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to assist Mr and Mrs Dennis Ryalls to ascertain the cause of the death of their son, Benjamin Ryalls, in Mombasa, Kenya on 24 July 2012.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We regularly submit formal requests to the Kenyan Government, asking for the toxicology report to be released, and did so most recently on 24 January 2018. We raised Mr Ryalls' case with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4 March 2018 and we will continue to do so on behalf of his family and the UK coroner.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to enable additional unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in France who have family members in this country to be admitted to the UK.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Under the Dublin Regulation, we will accept requests to transfer an unaccompanied child’s asylum claim from another state which participates in the Dublin Regulation, where the child has eligible family in the UK, and where transfer is in their best interests.
As part of the UK-France Summit (or Sandhurst Treaty) of 18 January, we announced a number of specific measures to strengthen the operation of the Dublin Regulation. We have allocated a £3.6 million development fund, as part of the UK’s overall £45.5 million funding commitment, which is intended to support projects which support eligible claims through the Dublin process and ensure that those with no prospect of transferring to the UK are informed of their options.
The Sandhurst Treaty also commits the UK and France to clear timescales for effecting transfers between the two countries under the Dublin Regulation. Furthermore, the UK will deploy a Liaison Officer to France by 1 April 2018 to support transfers between the UK and France under the Dublin Regulation and section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children she plans to resettle in the UK under the Dubs amendment in the next six months.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
On 8 February, the Government announced that we will transfer the specified number of 350 children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 following consultation with local authorities on capacity. This includes the more than 200 children already transferred under section 67 from France as part of the UK’s support for the Calais camp clearance. Further transfers are expected to begin shortly.