Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Appendix 1, Section B, Subsection 1, A, 2 of the Annex Modifications to Annex 1 to the UK-Andean Trade Agreement, signed in Quito on 15 May 2019, CP 122, what the (a) timing and (b) process is of the examination of the improvement of tariff liberalisation of goods included in staging category BA; against what criteria she plans to assess the potential impact of that improvement; what plans she has to consult countries potentially affected; and whether she plans to publish an impact assessment.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The examination of goods included in Appendix 1, Section B, Subsection 1, A, 2 of the Annex Modifications to Annex 1 to the UK-Andean Trade Agreement must take place within two years of entry into force of the UK-Andean Countries Trade Agreement. The agreement entered into force for all parties in June 2022.
In the review, the UK will consider the interests of businesses and consumers alongside our development objectives. The Government will engage stakeholders and meet our existing commitments for consultation in the UK-Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement.
There are no plans to publish an impact assessment.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of how many schools who have incurred a financial cost to manage asbestos on their premises in the last 12 months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Safe and well-maintained school buildings are a priority for the department. The department has allocated over £15 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion this financial year. This funding is informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate.
The department expects responsible bodies, including local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts, to have robust plans in place to manage any asbestos in school buildings effectively in line with their legal duties.
The department follows advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which states that, as long as asbestos is in good condition, not vulnerable to damage and carefully managed, it is usually safer to manage it in situ. The department is committed to working collaboratively with HSE, as the regulator, to support schools and duty holders.
The department has not made an assessment of how many schools have incurred a financial cost to manage asbestos. Asbestos is managed by responsible bodies and schools at a local level, including determining how management is funded. The department supports them by providing guidance on the safe management of asbestos and providing access to capital funding each year. Schools are either eligible for School Condition Allocation funding to prioritise improving the condition of their schools, or they are able to bid into the Condition Improvement Fund annual bidding round, to apply for funding for specific capital projects. All schools also receive funding to spend on their capital priorities or to contribute to larger projects through an annual Devolved Formula Capital allocation. Condition funding can be used to remove asbestos when required, often as part of a wider condition project.
Where responsible bodies have serious issues with buildings that cannot be managed locally, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what public bodies have signed the Hillsborough Charter.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out on 6 December 2023, in the Government's response to Bishop James Jones' independent report, many organisations have already signed the Hillsborough Charter, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, College of Policing, Crown Prosecution Service, Fire Service, and Kensington and Chelsea Council.
This Government will encourage and work with other public bodies to adopt the Charter and commit to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough disaster, to ensure that the failings we saw in its aftermath are never repeated.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether organisations within the NHS are required to sign the Hillsborough Charter.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no requirement for organisations within the National Health Service to sign the Hillsborough Charter but, in line with the Government’s response to Bishop James Jones’ review of the Hillsborough families’ experiences, we will encourage the NHS to adopt the Charter and commit to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough disaster.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department had discussions with the Royal Mail on the Printed Postage Impressions system prior to 2013.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Operational matters, which include those relating to the Printed Postage Impressions service, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail. The Government is not involved in the day- to-day operations of the company and does not play a role in handling or resolving issues in relation to postage fraud.
Royal Mail has a well-established process in place to deal with suspected postage fraud. This is handled by the Royal Mail Revenue Protection team, who would be best placed to answer any queries in relation to this issue.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the number of prosecutions involving potential Printed Postage Impressions fraud in the last 15 years; and what estimate she has made of the number of cases alleging wrongful prosecutions in relation to those cases in the last 15 years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Operational matters, which include those relating to the Printed Postage Impressions service, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail. The Government is not involved in the day- to-day operations of the company and does not play a role in handling or resolving issues in relation to postage fraud.
Royal Mail has a well-established process in place to deal with suspected postage fraud. This is handled by the Royal Mail Revenue Protection team, who would be best placed to answer any queries in relation to this issue.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answers of 14 and 18 December 2023 to Questions 6067, 6068 and 6383 and the Answer of 10 January 2024 to Question 7471 on Tractors: Batteries, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on the UK's transition to electric vehicles of tariffs on battery electric truck tractors from the EU in each year to 2030.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The rules which apply to battery electric truck tractors to facilitate tariff free trade have been in force since 1 January 2021 and were not due to change in 2024. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) works across government to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. Zero emission vehicles will help the UK decarbonise and Government remains committed to the Net Zero 2050 target.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade during the debate on UK Export Performance of 18 September 2023, Official Report, column 1200, how many people work in the dedicated free trade agreement utilisation team as of 17 January 2024; and how many people he plans to work in that team on average over the next two financial years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Free Trade Agreement Utilisation team has around 20 full time employees who work closely with business-facing teams across the Nations and regions of the UK, teams based overseas, and across all of our Department’s export support ecosystem to raise awareness of our new FTAs and ensure business can seize the opportunities in those fast growing markets.
Future years' resourcing will be decided as part of business planning for each financial year.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people who paid into the British Shipbuilders pension fund were not receiving pension payments on 15 January 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
British Shipbuilder pensions were transferred to Legal & General on 1 December 1994. His Majesty’s Government does not hold any data on the number of former employees who are in receipt of pensions.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answers of 14 and 18 December 2023 to Questions 6067, 6068 and 6383 on Tractors: Batteries, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of maintaining rules of origin import taxes on battery electric truck tractors from the EU on the UK's transition to electric vehicles.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The rules which apply to battery electric truck tractors have been in force since 1 January 2021 and were not due to change in 2024. Zero emission vehicles will help the UK decarbonise and meet our Net Zero 2050 targets. The Government is committed to supporting the transition to these vehicles.