Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an annual assessment of the potential impact of international trade deals on agriculture.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has published Impact Assessments for each of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) we have agreed, which set out expected impacts for the UK economy and its regions and sectors. The agreements balance open and free trade with protections for the agricultural industry. Defra also monitors and evaluates the impact of FTAs on sectors to ensure that UK businesses are benefitting from FTAs.
Following the agreement of FTAs with Australia and New Zealand, a suite of products has been developed to help businesses understand and use new opportunities and make use of the preferential terms. This includes thematic guidance in business-friendly language on key FTA areas such as rules of origin and customs procedures, and sector-specific explainers for businesses looking to understand market opportunities and how to operationalise their export plans.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) make an estimate of the level of rapeseed imports in each year since 2013 and (b) commission research on the potential impact of restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids on the level of rapeseed imports.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The details requested for imports of oilseed rape dated back to 2013 can be seen in the below table. These are published annually by Government in Agriculture in the United Kingdom, the data set can be found under Table 7.5 Oilseed rape production, value, supply and use.
Units 1,000 tonnes
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Total imports | 117 | 87 | 87 | 63 | 345 | 206 | 354 | 503 | 926 | 811 |
Oilseeds are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to respond to market developments, suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy including pest and disease management.
Together with the devolved administrations, Defra has established the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) to monitor and assess the impact of market developments across the UK. It monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Low Pay Commission on the level of the national living wage in 2024-25.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wages rates for all eligible workers, including those in agriculture, are set by the Government, based on the advice of an independent advisory group, the Low Pay Commission.
Recruitment and retention of agricultural workers, of which wages are one element, were considered in the independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain which the Government commissioned in 2022. The review focussed on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors that are critical for food production and food security. The final report was published on 30 June 2023, and the Government Response will follow shortly.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of delaying implementation of the forthcoming ban on peat until 2030 on the horticultural sector.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains committed to legislating for a ban on the sale of peat as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the professional sector, our proposals include restrictions on the sale of peat from 2026 with a full ban from 2030. We are currently updating our economic Impact Assessment to reflect this.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to provide local authorities with an (a) application form template, (b) eligibility pre-payment checklist guide and (c) FAQ document to support assessments of eligibility for business recovery grants to help with recovery from the impact of Storm Babet.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Further to activation of the Flood Recovery Framework following severe flooding caused by Storm Babet, the Business Recovery Grant will support eligible business premises within qualifying flooded areas to help with recovery.
Administered by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), local authorities will receive funding equivalent to £2,500 per eligible business premises, to help support recovery in the immediate aftermath of Storm Babet.
An application form template, eligibility pre-payment checklist guide and a FAQ document to support assessments of eligibility for business recovery grants have been issued to Local Authorities to support them in administering the grant.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent evasion of Russian oil price cap sanctions.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The oil sanctions imposed by the UK and its partners, including the oil price cap, are working. Russia's oil revenues fell 25 per-cent year-on-year between January and September 2023, while the cap has also been effectively protecting global oil market security. The UK and our Coalition partners are aware of circumvention risks and employ strategies to minimise them. The UK has placed new sanctions on entities used by Russia to attempt to lessen the impact of our oil sanctions. We also continue to lead active discussions with our partners on the most effective means of continuing to tackle circumvention and increasing Russia's costs in doing so.
The UK has implemented a strong enforcement approach focused on prohibition, with the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), HMRC, and the National Crime Agency jointly considering cases which may be appropriate for criminal prosecution. On 12 October, the UK published a joint maritime advisory statement directed at government and private sector actors involved in the trade of Russian crude and refined products. The statement provided recommendations concerning sanctions-compliant practices that reduce exposure to possible circumvention risks.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of inflation on the £25 billion retail deposit level at which banks are required to ring-fence their retail deposit-taking operations.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 28 September 2023, the government published draft secondary legislation for consultation on reforms to the ring-fencing regime. The reforms will make the regime smarter and simpler by taking forward recommendations made by the independent ring-fencing review and going further in a number of areas. This includes increasing the “core deposit” threshold, above which firms become subject to the regime, from £25bn to £35bn.
The deposit threshold was originally set at £25bn by HM Treasury following recommendations from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) in 2011. The government white paper published in 2011 in response to the ICB outlined that the threshold would need to be adjusted over time to reflect the evolution of banking practices and growth in the deposit base.
Since then, the deposit base has grown significantly and the resilience of the banking sector has increased. The proposed £10bn increase to the threshold would result in approximately 90% of banks’ UK retail deposits being covered by the ring-fencing regime, which is broadly in line with the proportion covered when the threshold was set originally.
The updated threshold will provide banks currently below the £25bn deposit threshold with more room to grow before becoming subject to the ring-fencing regime. By removing a potential barrier to growth for banks, this proposal will support competition in the UK retail banking industry, and benefit the sector and its customers as a whole
The government will publish an impact assessment on its proposed reforms to the ring-fencing regime alongside introducing forthcoming secondary legislation.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the £25 billion threshold for banks to separate out their retail deposit-taking operations into a ring-fenced entity on the competitiveness of the UK retail bank industry.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 28 September 2023, the government published draft secondary legislation for consultation on reforms to the ring-fencing regime. The reforms will make the regime smarter and simpler by taking forward recommendations made by the independent ring-fencing review and going further in a number of areas. This includes increasing the “core deposit” threshold, above which firms become subject to the regime, from £25bn to £35bn.
The deposit threshold was originally set at £25bn by HM Treasury following recommendations from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) in 2011. The government white paper published in 2011 in response to the ICB outlined that the threshold would need to be adjusted over time to reflect the evolution of banking practices and growth in the deposit base.
Since then, the deposit base has grown significantly and the resilience of the banking sector has increased. The proposed £10bn increase to the threshold would result in approximately 90% of banks’ UK retail deposits being covered by the ring-fencing regime, which is broadly in line with the proportion covered when the threshold was set originally.
The updated threshold will provide banks currently below the £25bn deposit threshold with more room to grow before becoming subject to the ring-fencing regime. By removing a potential barrier to growth for banks, this proposal will support competition in the UK retail banking industry, and benefit the sector and its customers as a whole
The government will publish an impact assessment on its proposed reforms to the ring-fencing regime alongside introducing forthcoming secondary legislation.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what service level agreement her Department has in place with the Independent Office of Police Conduct on the length of time needed to complete an investigation.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office and the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) agree performance metrics relating to the length of time taken to complete investigations. These are published in the IOPC’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA).
The most recent ARA can be found on the IOPC’s website: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-202122
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) mean, (b) mode and (c) longest length of investigations undertaken by the Independent Office of Police Conduct was in the last 5 years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This information is held by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The Director General of the IOPC will write to Harriet Baldwin MP in due course once the information is available, and the Home Office will see that a copy of the letter is placed in the House library.