Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Invamed Group and Others v. HMRC judgment In the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) on appeal from the Upper Tribunal Tax and Chancery Chambers Mr Justice Birss and Judge Roger Berner [2018] UKUT 305 (TCC) 2018 WL 04685885 of 25 February 2020, Neutral Citation Number: [2020] EWCA Civ 243 / Case No: A3/2018/2938, for what reason his Department is applying import VAT on mobility scooters.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The chargeability of import VAT depends on the customs classification of a good. The correct classification for mobility scooters imported into the UK since August 2009 is under heading 8703, which is chargeable to import VAT. This did not change when the UK left the EU, with a specific legally binding Additional Chapter Note to clarify the UK legal position. The court case referred to is in respect of the classification of those goods imported between 2004 and 2007, during which time the court held that a different classification of 8713 was appropriate.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the BBC on coverage of the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd on BBC Parliament.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and the Government has no say on the BBC’s day-to-day decisions, including on the content it shows. Any decisions on this matter are for the BBC to take independently.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which five UK sectors exported the largest value of goods to Australia in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage of goods exported to Australia did they each contribute.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), available via their dedicated website www.uktradeinfo.com.
As part of the wider OTS portfolio, HMRC publishes annual statistics on international trade by particular business characteristics - industry group (sectors), age of business and size of business. The latest published statistics (2021) including exports of goods to Australia appears in the table found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/uk-trade-in-goods-by-business-characteristics-2021-data-tables.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many households in (a) Na h-Eileanan an Iar and (b) Scotland have accessed the Universal Service Obligation scheme for broadband.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Neither Ofcom, nor BT as the broadband Universal Service Provider for Scotland provides a breakdown at a constituency level of how many premises have taken up the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). However, Ofcom data shows that the number of potentially USO-eligible premises in Na h-Eileanan an Iar has reduced from 2,476 premises in March 2020, to 595 in October 2022, due to a combination of commercial rollouts, improved 4G Fixed Wireless Access services, government intervention and USO delivery.
As of October 2022, Ofcom Connected Nations 2022 reported that, in Scotland, there have been 110 broadband Universal Service Obligation orders resulting in 583 premises connected.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency process for registering medical devices facilitates an adequate level of supply of safe medical devices.
Answered by Will Quince
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) intends to strengthen the regulation of medical devices as set out in the Government’s response to the consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in the United Kingdom. Availability of medical devices remains a key consideration as we develop this future regime, including aspects on medical devices registration.
The MHRA continues to recognise the importance of availability of medical devices in the UK, and is taking a variety of steps to help ensure continuity in supply of medical devices. Firstly, the MHRA will consider applications for an exceptional use authorisation where there is a clear clinical need for a device, that does not otherwise have a valid Conformité Européene (CE) or UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark, to remain on the market. We assess applications for European Union Allowance based on the needs of patients. The MHRA is also working to expand Approved Body capacity to enable more manufacturers to obtain UKCA marking. Four bodies have already been designated and a further six are progressing through the designation process, with more in the pipeline.
In addition to this, the MHRA is working to ensure adequate transitional arrangements for its future regime for medical devices, including continued acceptance of CE marked medical devices taking into account the revised transitional arrangements for European Union (EU) medical devices regulations being progressed in the EU, which will apply in Northern Ireland. Finally, MHRA is working to ensure industry have clear guidance on registration requirements as the above progress and recently published an update on EU timeline revisions to support this.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that an adequate number of medical devices are available on the UK market.
Answered by Will Quince
The response to the future medical device regulations consultation, published in June 2022, outlined changes supporting innovation in United Kingdom’s life sciences and access to medical devices.
The Government is fully committed to protecting the continuity of supply of medical devices and providing sufficient time for industry to transition to any new requirements.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed that devices “Conformité Européene” marked under the most recent European Union regulations can continue to be placed on the Great Britain market for up to five years from July 2024, when the new UK regime is planned to take effect.
MHRA is developing a world-leading regulatory framework for the UK that will ensure the ongoing availability of adequate numbers of medical devices.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of supply chain disruption on the supply of medical devices to the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
We continue to see the impact of global events on supply chains and are aware of increased pressures on global manufacturing capacity. In response, the Department works closely with the Devolved Administrations, NHS England, NHS Supply Chain and suppliers to maintain continuity of supply across a broad range of products to minimise the impact of any potential supply disruptions on patient care.
While supplies have been maintained, responding to some supply chain disruptions has required a switch to alternative products in some instances. The Department proactively monitors supply conditions and engages extensively with industry to identify threats to the supply of medical equipment.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which five UK companies exported the largest value of goods to Australia in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage of goods exported to Australia did they each contribute.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC has a statutory duty of taxpayer confidentiality and cannot comment on the affairs of individual businesses. Consequently, the information requested is not disclosable.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (available via their dedicated website www.uktradeinfo.com).
The type of goods, and their value, exported to Australia are publicly available from this source.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of (a) smuggling, (b) crime and (c) tax evasion at each of the Government's proposed freeports.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.
A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.
Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the potential impact on GDP of each of the Government's proposed new freeports.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.
A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.
Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.