Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent measures the EU has taken to support its agricultural sector during the conflict in Ukraine on the competitiveness of (a) farmers and (b) fertiliser manufacturers in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK is working with G7 and other partners in multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organization, to monitor and address global food security issues, focusing on the ongoing benefits of open markets, and working together to ensure that sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food continues to be available and accessible to all. We are aware that other countries have put various measures in place to support their agricultural sectors. We are monitoring developments and applying our own measures in the UK.
The Secretary of State recently announced a range of measures in support of the current situation, such as delaying changes to the use of urea fertiliser to help farmers manage their costs and improving statutory guidance for use of slurry. On 31 March I hosted the first meeting of the Fertiliser Taskforce with key industry bodies to discuss potential mitigations to the challenges which global supply pressures are causing. The second Taskforce meeting occurred on 18 May, hosted by Minister Churchill. Ministers will continue to meet with key industry bodies for further Fertiliser Taskforce sessions in the coming months, to help identify and mitigate potential risks.
In addition, the 2022 Basic Payment Scheme payment will be made in two instalments to give farmers an advance injection of cash. Farmers with eligible applications will receive half of their payment from the end of July, and the rest from December. By doing this, the Government intends to inject cash into farm businesses, helping them to make business decisions sooner, with more confidence. Leaving the EU has given us flexibility to introduce this measure. In the days of the EU this would never have been possible due to the way audits worked and the need to enforce the three crop rule during the summer.
We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments. We have also increased our engagement with industry to supplement our analysis with real-time intelligence.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) fertiliser and (b) carbon dioxide continue to be manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government is working with industry to see what more they can do to achieve a more sustainable and resilient market for these products, and we encourage industry to continue to build their resilience plans.
Supply of carbon dioxide for the UK market has diversified since last year, with a variety of domestic sources providing supply along with imports where commercial agreements are made.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
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 availability of fertiliser in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Global gas prices have impacted production of fertilisers internationally and domestically. Some international companies halted or reduced production, and some countries, such as China, reduced the export of some fertiliser products to protect their domestic demands. However, supply of all fertilisers in the UK has remained available throughout the last 12 months although high prices reduced demand from farmers.
While global fertiliser prices have risen, the supply chain providing imports of fertiliser to the UK has remained dynamic. CF Fertilisers continues to produce ammonium nitrate fertiliser from its plant at Billingham. New season fertiliser prices since May have fallen from their peak caused by high global gas prices, allowing many farmers to purchase fertiliser and take-up was extremely good.
Government actions, such as bringing forward half of this year's Basic Payment Scheme payment as an advance injection of cash to farm businesses, will help farmers deal with high fertiliser prices. In addition, the Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs; increased grants funding to help farmers and growers boost research and development; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of ammonia inhibitors rather than a complete ban.
We are monitoring the situation closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the Agricultural Industries Confederation.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to appoint a trade envoy to Uruguay.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are constantly reviewing suitable markets to identify where the appointment of a Trade Envoy can be of greatest benefit to the Government’s trade and investment objectives.
There are no plans at present to add Uruguay to the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Programme.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of time it takes to train a welder for nickel plate products to work on nuclear systems and nuclear power stations.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
BEIS does not collect or have access to this data.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many craftsmen are available to build nickel plate products in the UK; and are there any university programmes available in the UK for nickel plate products.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
BEIS does not collect or have access to this data.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what design approval is required for nickel plate products.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
BEIS does not collect or have access to this data.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) materials and (b) capability there is within the UK to build nickel plate products for UK power stations.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
BEIS does not collect or have access to this data.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to support people with off-grid energy, such as oil or propane central heating, in the context of the support provided by the Government to other energy consumers over the last six months.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Off-grid households that are dependent on non-regulated fuels such as heating oil will be eligible for the £200 Energy Bills Support Scheme from Autumn, as long as they are also domestic electricity customers. Since April, households in council bands A-D have also already begun receiving a £150 rebate.
Financial support remains available for heating customers with energy bills, if eligible, through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment Schemes.
The recently launched Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide grants of £5,000 for air source heat pumps and biomass boilers, and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps to support households and small businesses wishing to transition to low carbon heating, including buildings in off gas grid areas.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the scope of HMRC’s Customs Training Grants to private individuals who wish to undertake qualifications at the Institute of Export and UK Customs Academy in the context of the shortage of trained customs professionals.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government provided support to the intermediary sector through the grant scheme. We made over £80 million available to the intermediaries sector via the intermediaries grant scheme to help it scale up. This included grant funding for customs IT, training, and recruitment of staff. The fund has now been fully allocated and no further applications are being accepted.
The customs intermediary sector has significantly increased its capacity to meet demand following the introduction of full customs controls from 1 January 2022.
HMRC continues to closely monitor the capacity of the sector, and its ability to respond to demand through regular engagement and surveys. HMRC continue to engage closely with the sector to understand how it is responding and to keep their support measures under constant close review.
To further support traders, on 15 March 2021 HMRC launched the £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund to support small and medium sized businesses to adjust to new customs, Rules of Origin, and VAT rules when trading with the EU. The fund has now closed.