Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any oil being imported to the UK has been (a) rejected and (b) turned away on the basis that it originated in Russia.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government announced measures against the import of oil of Russian origin or originating in Russia on 21 July 2022. Since that date, HMRC has implemented border controls so that if such consignments were declared onto the Customs Declaration Service, then HMRC would take appropriate enforcement action.
HMRC has a range of enforcement options available such as education, warning letters, issuing compound settlements, seizures / disruptions and in the most serious of cases, referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration for prosecution.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what powers he has impose financial support for new ferry routes as a condition for companies seeking to operate Freeports.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2213 on 20 November 2023.
Freeports are not operated by individual companies, but are a partnership of key public and private stakeholders coming together to deliver durable economic growth for their regions.
Private sector operators provide services to meet wider passenger or freight demands and so, new ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis.
More information pertaining to Scottish Green Freeports can be found as this link.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2024 to Question 17476 on INEOS: Belgium, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of new business outside the UK on (a) sites and (b) industries in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Honourable Member to the response provided to Question 19719 on 25 March.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 19719 on INEOS: Belgium, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential impact of that guarantee on existing and competitor refineries in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK Export Finance conducted its customary due diligence in line with its policies and obligations to inform its decision-making about supporting Project One. This included consideration of environmental, social and climate change risks and impacts, but did not include an assessment of the type specified in the question.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 19719 on INEOS: Belgium, what estimate she has made of the number of jobs that will be created as a result of that guarantee.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade cannot provide a specific number of jobs supported. As advised in the response to UIN 19719, UK Export Finance's guarantee to commercial lenders will help secure new export opportunities for the UK that would not otherwise have happened, in turn supporting jobs across the UK, both in those businesses with which INEoS contracts direcfly, and in their supply chain.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department has paid by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in (i) 2018-2019, (ii) 2019-2020, (iii) 2020-2021, (iv) 2021-2022 and (v) 2022-2023 financial year.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are unable to provide a breakdown in the manner requested as the data is not held in that format. However, full details of financial assistance provided under the Act are published annually in the Industrial Development Act annual report, copies of which are available in the House libraries.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) criteria and (b) assessment process was used to determine the award of up to £75 million to BMW made under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The award to BMW met the following criteria;
The assessment process followed HM Treasury Green Book Appraisal Guidance including detailed due diligence conducted by an independent third party. The assessment process also included scrutiny by the Industrial Development Advisory Board.
The award to BMW supports a total investment of £575m by the company and will secure production of new electric models of the Mini at the plant in Oxford.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the total revenue accrued by the Exchequer since the introduction of the benefit cap; and how many and what proportion of households are impacted in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) each parliamentary constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the introduction of the benefit cap in April 2013 to November 2023 (the latest data available) an estimated £2.2 billion has been accrued in Housing Benefit (HB) and Universal Credit (UC) expenditure in Great Britain due to the benefit cap.
Official statistics on the number and proportion of working-age households in receipt of UC and HB who are capped up to November 2023 are available on Stat-Xplore for the requested geographies. Official Statistics on the total number of households in Great Britain on HB or UC for the same geographies are also available on Stat-Xplore up to November 2023. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Department for Communities.
Notes:
Source: Benefit Cap Official Statistics up to Nov-23 published in Mar-24
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of households impacted by the two child limit where one adult is in work in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) each parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is provided in the attached spreadsheet.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Scottish Government has made a formal request for the transfer of the (a) powers and (b) associated budget to provide financial assistance to industry under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to the Scottish Parliament.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The power under s.8 so far as it is exercisable in or as regards Scotland, was transferred to Scottish Ministers by section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998, effective from 01/07/99. As such, no formal request for transfer of powers or associated budget is required. The power remains exercisable in Scotland by the UK Secretary of State by virtue of section 56(1)(h) of the 1998 Act; and can also be exercised concurrently by the Secretary of State and Scottish Ministers in relation to financial assistance for shipping services carrying passengers between the Highlands and Islands and Northern Ireland by virtue of S.I. 2002/1630(S. 6).