Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy to allocate payments to farmers that are comparable to Common Agricultural Policy payments after 2022.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to safeguard agricultural jobs after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 potential effect on the provision of healthcare for UK citizens in the EU of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
Under current European Union-based entitlements, the United Kingdom pays for the healthcare costs of 180,000 UK nationals, mostly pensioners, in health systems across the EU. There are around 50 million UK tourist visits to the EU annually; the European Healthcare Insurance Card (EHIC) is used in around 0.5% of these visits. Moreover, approximately 50,000 posted workers are protected through the current arrangements.
The UK Government has proposed to EU Member States that, in a no-deal scenario, we should maintain the existing healthcare arrangements until 31 December 2020, with the aim of minimising disruption to UK nationals’ and EU citizens’ healthcare provision. The UK Government is working to put in place bilateral agreements with Member States to protect existing healthcare arrangements for UK nationals beyond exit day. For UK nationals that live in EU Member States, the UK cannot unilaterally guarantee the continuation of current arrangements, as this depends on decisions by Member States.
EU Member States such as Spain have made public commitments that they will enable resident UK nationals and visitors to access healthcare in the same way they do now, and we hope to reach such agreements with all Member States.
Although we are hopeful that we can agree reciprocal healthcare arrangements, as a responsible Government we have developed a multi-layered approach to minimise disruption to healthcare provision to UK nationals currently in or travelling to the EU Member States.
The UK Government has committed to fund healthcare for UK nationals (and others for whom the UK is responsible) who have applied for, or are undergoing, treatments in the EU prior to and on exit day, for up to one year, to protect the most vulnerable.
Individuals are always responsible for ensuring they have sufficient healthcare insurance. Anyone who is living, working or studying in EU Member States should check the country specific guidance on GOV.UK and NHS.UK for updates.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives from the BBC on the BBC's decision to charge people aged over 75 for TV licences.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Since the BBC took its decision, I have met with the Chairman of the BBC Board and the Director-General of the BBC and I have asked them to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the growth of technology firms in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Margot James
We are confident the digital technology sector and its startup community will continue to go from strength to strength. Our ambition is to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business - and that ambition remains after we leave the EU. Tech Nation and Dealroom have released figures showing that investment in UK tech reached £6.8 billion ($8.7bn) last year and has already reached £3.8 billion ($4.8bn) in the first half of 2019, showing that the UK tech ecosystem is world-leading and in a strong position.
We are investing in the areas the sector needs: adequate access to both finance and talent. That is why for finance, Government announced a new £2.5 billion British Patient Capital programme, which is expected to attract a further £5 billion in private investment, in order to support UK companies with high growth potential to access the long-term investment they need to grow and go global. To continue to attract international talent, we have doubled the number of Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas to 2,000, and taken doctors and nurses out of the Tier 2 visa cap, freeing up many more skilled worker visas to other sectors, including tech. At the end of March this year, we also launched the new Start-Up and Innovator visa routes for entrepreneurs.
In addition, at London Tech Week in June the PM launched a study into tech competitiveness - this will identify key opportunities and support mechanisms for business growth in the digital tech sector. And Tech Nation supports businesses across the UK to enable continued growth of the digital tech sector. Government funding will help Tech Nation support 40,000 entrepreneurs and up to 4,000 start-ups as they scale their businesses across the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has consulted on safe standing in English football stadiums.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We believe that all-seater stadia are currently the best means to ensure the safety and security of fans at designated football matches in England and Wales. I meet a wide range of football stakeholders and discuss standing at football with them amongst other issues.
We commissioned an independent review of the existing evidence relating to the all-seater policy and are considering an appropriate date for the report’s release.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU on 31 October 2019 without a deal.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
As a responsible government we have been preparing for the UK’s exit from the EU in all scenarios for nearly three years. A no deal exit remains the legal default at the end of the extension period on 31 October unless a deal is agreed.
DExEU has a vital coordination role to play in these preparations. We maintain a single picture of workstreams, policy proposals and delivery implications across government to inform policy development. This allows us to scrutinise domestic policy solutions and delivery plans that departments develop - ensuring coherence and recommending cross-cutting solutions to drive delivery forward.
Over 300 work-streams to prepare for ‘no deal’ continue to be advanced across Government, to minimise disruption to industry, to our vital services, and to the daily lives of the people of the United Kingdom. In light of the extension, departments are making sensible decisions about the timing and pace at which some of this work is progressing and what further action can be taken, but we will continue to prepare for all EU Exit scenarios.
We continue to make good progress - for example:
Since December 2018, HMRC has issued 74,000 new EORI numbers to traders (as of 23 June).
We have published approximately 750 pieces of communications on no deal since August 2018, including 106 technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens what they need to do to prepare.
The EU Settlement Scheme is now fully opened with over 800,000 applications so far.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on intelligence sharing between the UK and EU of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Intelligence sharing between the British Government and overseas partners is important to the security of our country. The Government's vision for a security partnership with the European Union is set out in the White Paper: "The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union" (July 2018). This includes a proposal for continued information and intelligence sharing, for example through the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, European Union Satellite Centre and EU Military Staff. It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment in detail on intelligence matters.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish his Department's no deal preparation documents.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government has published a number of documents to support public and parliamentary scrutiny of our preparations for leaving the EU.
The Government continues to report regularly to the House and its Select Committees in person and by responding fully to inquiries and reports. In addition to regular statements by the Prime Minister, DExEU Ministers have given evidence to a broad range of committees on 49 occasions and have made 187 written statements to both Houses.
In addition, the Government published a robust, objective assessment of how exiting the EU could affect the economy of the UK in November 2018, as part of its commitment to providing Parliament with appropriate analysis. In addition, all legislation is accompanied by explanatory documents. This information is available online.
We have also taken extensive steps to provide businesses and citizens with advice on helping them mitigate the potential impacts of a no deal exit, publishing approximately 750 pieces of communications on no deal since August 2018, including 106 technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens what they need to do to prepare.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on using Border Force technology to solve the customs issues when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union regularly meets with Cabinet colleagues to discuss preparations for leaving the EU. Similarly, ministers and officials from the department meet regularly with other government departments to discuss a variety of issues.