Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Departments budget was for internal resource allocation, broken down by year, for each year in which projections are available.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade’s resource allocation budget following the Supplementary Estimate for 2023/24 is:
Control Total |
| Full Yr Budget (£m) |
Resource DEL Admin |
| 513.1 |
Resource DEL Programme |
| 1,454.1 |
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what budgetary provision her Department has allocated for payments of redress to victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in each financial year in which payments are estimated to be made.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The final cost of Horizon compensation will depend on the circumstances set out in individual claims. We are promising fair and equal treatment of postmasters, not a set amount of money. The amount we spend will depend on how many people come forward and the claims which are submitted.
The Government has to date committed a maximum of just over £1bn to ensure postmasters are compensated fairly. That is not a forecast: it is an estimate of the maximum Government funding which could be needed for compensation, which we have made in response to our obligation to make subsidies transparent.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for overturning the convictions of subpostmasters.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We will introduce primary legislation within a few weeks to quash convictions arising from the Horizon scandal.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision, published on 30 June 2023, if he will (a) make an assessment of the level of potential (i) risk to continued anti-money laundering compliance posed by each proposed model of reform and (ii) transitional risk associated with models (A) two, (B) three and (C) four of the reform proposals and (b) publish those assessments.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The evidence received from respondents to our consultation on reforming the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory regime has been invaluable in allowing us to understand the full range of possible risks associated with each of the models that were outlined.
When we announce which policy we will be pursuing, this will be accompanied with analysis of the policy options against our criteria. This will include analysis of how much the models could improve supervisory effectiveness and how feasible they are.
We will continue work to ensure that whichever model we proceed with helps us achieve our goal of reducing economic crime in the UK.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will publish his Department's review of sanctions architecture.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We keep our sanctions under constant review to ensure that they are as impactful and effective as possible. This includes keeping under review how the UK's sanctions framework and architecture best supports that. To that end, we have amended the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 through recent Economic Crime Acts to reflect our learning during the first five years of operation of the Act.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has received the final report of the independent review of the Teesworks Joint Venture.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As set out in the oral statement delivered by the Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Building Safety on 29 January 2024, the department received the independent panel's report on 23 January 2024 and the report was published 29 January 2024. A copy is available at the following link.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's online guidance on Freeports, last updated on 6 December 2023, whether (a) HMRC and (b) Border Force is responsible for conducting annual audits of security measures introduced by Freeport operators to mitigate physical, personnel and cyber security risks.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The annual audit which you reference has been superseded by a new approach, where the Freeport governing body will conduct the security audit and then report to the Freeport Security Forum (FSF) led by HMG. The FSF will be chaired by the Home Office and reviewed by experts within relevant departments, including HMT, Home Office and from Law Enforcement authorities. The Annual Freeport Security Audit (AFSA) complements but does not replace the standard UK customs and border security processes that apply to Freeports or similar facilities. Freeport Customs Site Operators are also required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC.
For all English Freeports, the first AFSA is due to take place in the next couple of months. The online guidance on the Freeports webpage will be updated in line with the new process that is being followed in due course.
The report must be agreed and receive sign off by all local strategic security partners. If the FSF is not satisfied with a Freeport’s AFSA, they will work with the Freeport to agree improvement actions to be implemented. A Freeport will not pass annual review until the government is satisfied with the AFSA.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which firms (a) based in China and (b) based outside China and with Chinese owners have been subject to restrictions on trade and investment under the (i) Import of Goods (Control) Order 1954, (ii) Export Control Act 2002, (iii) Export Control Order 2008, (iv) Procurement Act 2023, (v) Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 and (vi) National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
i. The Import of Goods (Control) Order 1954, together with licences made under it, do not make Chinese-origin firms the subject of any restrictions on trade and investment.
ii. Export controls apply to anyone exporting controlled items from the UK, regardless of country of origin. The Government assesses all export licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not licence the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with these Criteria.
iii. None. The Procurement Act is not due for commencement until Autumn 2024.
iv. Huawei
v. Eight final orders (which imposed conditions on, or blocked or unwound deals) issued involved acquirers linked to China. All notices of final orders are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of exports by (a) number of exporters and (b) value of exports used the tariff rates agreed in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership during the last period for which data is available.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not have this information as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has not yet entered into force.
The Accession Protocol for the UK’s entry into the CPTPP was signed on 16 July 2023. Entry into force will take place once the UK and the requisite number of CPTPP Parties have finished their legal procedures. We expect this to happen in the second half of 2024.
Joining CPTPP means that over 99% of current UK goods exports to CPTPP will be eligible for tariff-free trade.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the Independent Review of the Teesworks Joint Venture.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL572 on 7 December 2023.