Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take additional steps to ensure full transparency of any UK-registered entities linked to the Beirut port explosion on 4 August 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK Government’s Insolvency Service has undertaken enquiries into a UK registered company with linkages to the Beirut port explosion and, where appropriate, has engaged with the Lebanese authorities. Matters surrounding the explosion remain the subject of ongoing investigation in the Lebanon and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further, nor to address specific questions on the matter, pending the outcome of any actions by the authorities there.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much revenue the Insolvency Service has collected in bankruptcy fees from leaseholders in high-rise private residential properties with defective cladding in each financial year since 2017-18.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Insolvency Service reports income from the fees charged on the insolvency cases it handles, in its annual report and accounts. However it does not hold the information to calculate the amount of fees collected in any bankruptcies of leaseholders in a high-rise residential property with defective cladding.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the proposed five-year increase in postal rates to the US on the profitability of UK SME exporters.
Answered by Paul Scully
International postage rates are agreed through the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of the United Nations. The postal operator that sends an item to another country remunerates the destination postal operator for processing and delivering the item. The costs the receiving postal operator can claim are agreed on a multilateral basis.
In September 2019, the UPU agreed to reform the remuneration rates to reflect the true cost of delivery. Member countries unanimously agreed on a proposal that committed most members to pay the same rates for bulky letters and small packets, effective from January 2020. In addition, countries meeting certain conditions, would be able to self-declare their rates from 1 July 2020. The US is the only country that currently meets these conditions.
In the negotiations on the reforms to the remuneration rates, the UK sought to minimise the impact on our citizens and businesses, ensure the continued flow of trade and maintain the integrity of the international postal system.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to discuss the US's self-determined postage rates with the new US administration.
Answered by Paul Scully
International postage rates are agreed through the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of the United Nations. The postal operator that sends an item to another country remunerates the destination postal operator for processing and delivering the item. The costs the receiving postal operator can claim are agreed on a multilateral basis.
In September 2019, the UPU agreed to reform the remuneration rates to reflect the true cost of delivery. Member countries unanimously agreed on a proposal that committed most members to pay the same rates for bulky letters and small packets, effective from January 2020. In addition, countries meeting certain conditions, would be able to self-declare their rates from 1 July 2020. The US is the only country that currently meets these conditions.
In the negotiations on the reforms to the remuneration rates, the UK sought to minimise the impact on our citizens and businesses, ensure the continued flow of trade and maintain the integrity of the international postal system.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the increased postal rates to the US on the profitability of UK SME exporters.
Answered by Paul Scully
International postage rates are agreed through the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of the United Nations. The postal operator that sends an item to another country remunerates the destination postal operator for processing and delivering the item. The costs the receiving postal operator can claim are agreed on a multilateral basis.
In September 2019, the UPU agreed to reform the remuneration rates to reflect the true cost of delivery. Member countries unanimously agreed on a proposal that committed most members to pay the same rates for bulky letters and small packets, effective from January 2020. In addition, countries meeting certain conditions, would be able to self-declare their rates from 1 July 2020. The US is the only country that currently meets these conditions.
In the negotiations on the reforms to the remuneration rates, the UK sought to minimise the impact on our citizens and businesses, ensure the continued flow of trade and maintain the integrity of the international postal system.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on that country's recently increased self-determined postage rates for UK exporters.
Answered by Paul Scully
International postage rates are agreed through the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialised body of the United Nations. The postal operator that sends an item to another country remunerates the destination postal operator for processing and delivering the item. The costs the receiving postal operator can claim are agreed on a multilateral basis.
In September 2019, the UPU agreed to reform the remuneration rates to reflect the true cost of delivery. Member countries unanimously agreed on a proposal that committed most members to pay the same rates for bulky letters and small packets, effective from January 2020. In addition, countries meeting certain conditions, would be able to self-declare their rates from 1 July 2020. The US is the only country that currently meets these conditions.
In the negotiations on the reforms to the remuneration rates, the UK sought to minimise the impact on our citizens and businesses, ensure the continued flow of trade and maintain the integrity of the international postal system.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision for immediate mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the ability for services exporters to operate in the EU.
Answered by Paul Scully
Within the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK and EU have agreed a framework under which both parties may agree arrangements on the recognition of professional qualifications (such as mutual recognition agreements) covering the UK and all 27 EU Member States. Once an arrangement is adopted under the TCA, UK professionals will be able to use the terms outlined in the arrangement to secure recognition of their professional qualifications, helping them to provide services within EU Member States.
While frameworks like this are conventional practice in free trade agreements, the Government successfully negotiated improvements to the EU’s original mutual recognition of professional qualification proposals. We have streamlined the process by which regulatory and professional authorities make recommendations to the Partnership Council, and we have opened further possibilities for the types of arrangements which can be adopted by the Council. This could result in more arrangements being agreed at a faster pace.
Over the coming years, professionals will be able to take advantage of any profession-specific EU-wide arrangement agreed under the FTA framework. As of 1 January 2021, UK-qualified professionals who wish to supply services in the EU should seek recognition of their qualifications according to the local laws and regulations of individual Member States.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the absence of a full mutual recognition agreement in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the profitability of UK exporters excluded from the agreement’s sectoral annexes.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out wide-ranging provisions on Technical Barriers to Trade that will support exporters, including a core chapter and five sectoral annexes. These contain specific provisions which support the profitability of exporters.
Throughout negotiations, agreeing a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) across as many sectors as possible was a priority for the UK. MRAs remain a useful tool, and we will continue to seek them in negotiations with other partners where this would be beneficial.
The Government has already taken additional steps to reduce disruption to business. As set out in our guidance, to allow businesses time to adjust, relevant CE marked goods that meet EU requirements (where these continue to match UK requirements) can continue to be placed on the GB market until 1 January 2022 in most cases.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the exceptions from market access included within the annexes of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the (a) ability for UK service exporters to do business in the EU, (b) profitability of UK service exporters and (c) administrative costs UK services exporters face conforming to different regulations across EU member states.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK’s published approach to negotiations aimed to achieve a transparent schedule of reservations based on the UK and EU’s best offer to date with improved commitments in areas of key interest, and the deal reflects this. The UK and EU have agreed provisions on trade in services and investment in line with our respective Free Trade Agreements with Japan, but with some additional benefits for both sides.
The agreement guarantees that UK investors and service suppliers will be able to access the EU’s markets and will not be subject to discriminatory barriers to trade. It includes gold-standard rules on services and investment liberalisation.
The deal requires that member states clearly set out where they intend to restrict this commitment so that UK businesses have absolute clarity about establishment requirements, and these restrictions are set out in the annexes of reservations to the agreement. The agreement as a whole secures continued market access across a broad range of key sectors, including professional and business services, and significantly exceeds what is available under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
Many exceptions are already applied within the Single Market, so do not represent new barriers for UK businesses. New requirements could include having to be EU/EEA national or resident to provide a service, and restrictions vary according to each individual Member State and sector. UK businesses providing services to the EU should check the national regulations of the country in which they do business in to understand how best to operate.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions on short-term travel for UK service exporters in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the ability for service providers to do business in the EU.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK-EU Trade & Co-operation Agreement (TCA) contains provisions on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes (Mode IV), similar to the EU’s best precedent reached with Canada and Japan, with some improvements.
We have always been clear that Freedom of Movement between the UK and the EU will end after the Transition Period. This means changes, such as visas and work permits, for some of our service exporters; the Government has been helping UK businesses to get ready for this. However, the TCA we negotiated reflects the importance we know businesses place on cross-border mobility.
The Mode IV commitments we secured provide certainty and clarity for those who travel to another country temporarily to do business. These include reciprocal measures for: short-term business visitors; business visitors for establishment purposes; intra-company transferees; and those providing services under contract, whether as an employee or a self-employed professional.
These commitments guarantee market access to key economic sectors, and ease some burdens on business travellers, such as: removing the need for work permits for some short-term trips, and reducing the number of economic needs tests a country could impose to block access to exporters. They also ensure that the UK and EU Member States have transparent visa application processes, clear signposting on rules for business travellers, and a minimum standard for how business travellers and service providers should be treated when working abroad through non-discrimination clauses.