Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the taxation of dividend payments made by businesses authorised to operate in a Freeport.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Dividends paid by companies operating in freeports are taxed in the same way and at the same rates as companies that do not operate in freeports.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect on patients of the closure of the Diamorphine Assisted Treatment (DAT) clinic in Middlesbrough given that Project ADDER, in part, covers enhanced treatment and recovery services.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out in our ten-year Strategy, this Government is committed to a whole-system approach to tackling drugs which gives people with an addiction access to treatment to assist recovery. The safety and wellbeing of patients receiving treatment is our top priority. Middlesbrough Council has assured us that all patients transitioning from Diamorphine/Heroin Assisted Treatment, following the local authority’s decision to close this service, have received bespoke transition planning to maintain safety and appropriate care.
Through Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) we have provided £4.58m in funding to Middlesborough between 2020-2023 to drive a one-system approach to tackling drugs. The Project ADDER approach brings together co-ordinated law enforcement activity, diversionary programmes and enhanced treatment and recovery provisions. Local funding decisions for the provision of treatment and recovery services are made by the local authority.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities published on 31 May 2022, if he will publish all ministerial correspondence in connection with that investigation and report with (a) the Environment Agency, (b) the Centre for Environment Fisheries & Aquaculture Science and (c) the Marine Management Organisation.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All raw data informing the conclusions of the joint agency investigation is currently undergoing accessibility formatting and will be published shortly. Defra does not routinely publish all Minister’s correspondence and has no plans to do so in this case.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the context of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities published on 31 May 2022, (a) what recent discussions his Department has had with PD Ports Teesport and (b) if he will publish all ministerial correspondence with that company on its dredging activities.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In accordance with guidelines, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) engaged with PD Ports Teesport to ensure all dredged material was suitable for disposal at sea prior to being licenced. Additional checks were conducted by MMO during the investigation to review dredging activity and ensure all disposals at sea were conducted in line with the licences issued and relevant conditions within these.
There was no Ministerial correspondence with PD Ports Teesport.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the levels of pyridine in marine species fished in the River Tees estuary, and (b) the possible health risks of those species for human consumption.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The European Chemicals Agency states that pyridine is not considered persistent, toxic, and likely to bioaccumulate. It is also not considered a contaminant of concern for marine sediment under OSPAR (the convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic), due to its high solubility in water. On this basis, pyridine is not routinely tested for in the same way as other, recognised contaminants of concern. A substance likely to be pyridine was detected in crab tissue as part of the 2021 mortality incident investigation. However, the method used is not validated for tissue detection and so the numerical results are not conclusive. Research is ongoing to validate a method of tissue detection which will then confirm the concentrations of pyridine observed.
There is very limited potential for pyridine to be present within species for human consumption due to its low likelihood to bioaccumulate.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities published on 31 May 2022, if he will commission an independent expert analysis of the data and materials contained in that report.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All raw data informing the conclusions of the joint agency investigation will be published shortly. This is a complex area of research, and we will continue to work with universities and other experts to understand it better.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Section 4 of the report of the Joint agency investigation into Teesside and Yorkshire Coast Crab and Lobster mortalities, published on 31 May 2022, what conclusions have been reached by the Centre for Environment Fisheries & Aquaculture Science investigation commissioned by his Department to (a) ensure better preparedness for any future incident, (b) further investigate the indicative results relating to pyridine, particularly in relation to its formation as part of a ‘normal’ biological process during decomposition and (c) examine the physiological impacts of high levels of algal toxins on crustacean physiology.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The lessons learnt from the incident investigation highlight that effective cross-agency collaboration is essential to an effective investigation. Defra will look continually to improve this process.
Research and development work on pyridine is ongoing. CEFAS is developing and validating a chemical detection test to measure the amounts of pyridine in crab tissues, assessing pyridine levels in crab tissue collected last year from within and outside of the area of impact, and testing the theory that pyridine can be a natural by-product associated with the decomposition process in crabs. The same project will work to better understand the potentially harmful effects of toxins and harmful algae on crab health. This work is highly complex but is expected to be completed in March 2023.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Environment Agency has made of the quality of recently obtained samples of Tees water in the context of recent findings of dead crustaceans in that river.
Answered by Steve Double
The Environment Agency routinely carries out a surveillance programme of monthly water samples in the Tees estuary. Monitoring data also exist for contaminants in blue mussels, fish, and sediments, as well as in the receiving waters of permitted water discharges.
The environmental samples collected as part of the investigation into recent crab and lobster mortalities have been considered against historic data for the Tees. Data and findings have fed in to a wider Defra-led investigation and have been reported via stakeholder briefings and within the final investigation report, available here (www.gov.uk/government/publications/joint-agency-investigation-into-teesside-and-yorkshire-coast-crab-and-lobster-mortalities). The Environment Agency data are also published as Open Data, available here (://environment.data.gov.uk/water-quality/view/landing).
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart on ending the blockade of Gaza in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1860 (2009).
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I [Minister Milling] recently visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) where I saw first-hand the challenges of the prolonged conflict and the impact of the occupation. I reiterated UK support for a two-state solution and the need to improve conditions for ordinary Palestinians in my meetings with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll, and with the Palestinian leadership, including Prime Minister Shtayyeh. The UK continues to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza's reconstruction and economic recovery. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children.