Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will list the legal entities that own each Freeport site in England.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Information on Freeport Custom Site contractors, a list of legal entities that own each Freeport site can be found using the following link. We will publish an annual report in due course.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Government plans to bring forward a Bill on boycotts, divestment and sanctions.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
We are committed to our manifesto pledge to ban public institutions from imposing their own divisive boycotts, divestment and sanctions measures directly or indirectly against foreign countries. We will legislate as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on trade union recognition within freeports.
Answered by Luke Hall
We were clear in the Freeports Bidding Prospectus that the government remains committed to ensuring its Freeport model maintains the UK’s high standards with respect to security, safety, workers’ rights, data protection, biosecurity and the environment, while ensuring fair and open competition between businesses.
It is for determination of the individual Freeports themselves who they include in their coalitions within the parameters we have set.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with (a) PD Ports and (b) Wentworth Clean Power on trade union recognition for employees at the (i) construction and (ii) operational phases of the Teesport Renewable Energy Centre within the Tees Freeport.
Answered by Luke Hall
Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department assessed the contract between PD Ports and Wentworth Clean Power for the Teesport Renewable Energy Centre as part of their official assessment of the Tees Freeport bid; and how that contract was scored under Sections 5.5 and 5.6 of the Freeport bidding prospectus published by the Treasury.
Answered by Luke Hall
My Department led the fair, open and transparent selection process to determine the successful Freeport locations in England, with assessment informed by relevant experts across government to ensure objective and robust assessment.
All bids received were initially assessed on their answers to the Essential Information set out in Section 5.5 of the Freeports bidding prospectus. Those that passed this stage had their responses to the questions set out in Section 5.6 of the Freeports Bidding Prospectus assessed against the listed criteria. This involved assessing the proposal’s ability to deliver against the policy objectives; the deliverability of the proposal effectively at pace; and the level of private sector involvement in the proposal.
Further information on the process and rationale for the selection of the successful Freeport locations in England, and how Teesside’s Freeport proposal scored against each of the assessment criteria, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freeports-bidding-prospectus/english-freeports-selection-decision-making-note.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the note on the freeports selection decision making process published by his Department on 8 April 2021, if he will list the members of the cross-government Freeports Programme Board.
Answered by Luke Hall
My Department led the fair, open and transparent selection process to determine the successful Freeport locations. The cross Whitehall Freeport Programme Board membership comprised of Senior Civil Servants from MHCLG, HMT, DfT, DIT, HMRC, BEIS, Border Force, the IPA, No.10, Defra and Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any of the successful freeport bids announced on 3 March 2021 rely on supply chain finance schemes to deliver its objectives.
Answered by Luke Hall
All bids were assessed against the assessment criteria set out in the Freeports Bidding Prospectus. For Criterion D, bidders were assessed on the deliverability of their proposal effectively at pace. For Criterion E, bidders were assessed against their proposals ability to demonstrate a high level of private sector involvement.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether freeport applications are assessed under (a) Criteria D and (b) Criteria E of Section 5.6 of the bidding prospectus for the use of supply chain finance schemes; and if he will list any successful freeport bids to date which contained plans to rely upon such schemes.
Answered by Luke Hall
All bids were assessed against the assessment criteria set out in the Freeports Bidding Prospectus. For Criterion D, bidders were assessed on the deliverability of their proposal effectively at pace. For Criterion E, bidders were assessed against their proposals ability to demonstrate a high level of private sector involvement.