Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of (a) 26 January and (b) 26 March 2024 from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran on concerns raised by a constituent about the conduct of Post Office Limited towards postmasters.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The correspondence from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran was responded to on 8 May 2024.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofcom on (a) the impartiality of and (b) sanctions on GB News.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Ofcom on a range of issues. Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code sets out rules to ensure that broadcast news is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. The Government is committed to a free and independent media and does not interfere with Ofcom's regulatory or operational decisions, including how broadcast content is regulated.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Ofcom on impartiality rules in broadcasting.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Ofcom on a range of issues. Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code sets out rules to ensure that broadcast news is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. The Government is committed to a free and independent media and does not interfere with Ofcom's regulatory or operational decisions, including how broadcast content is regulated.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on delivering Levelling Up funding to local authorities.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Across the three major Levelling Up funds, the Department has allocated £10.4 billion and released over £4 billion to local authorities.
The Funds are multi-year programmes that local authorities will continue to spend over the lifetime of the Funds. As is typical with capital programmes, spending will peak in the later years.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Spring Budget 2024 on his Department’s spending plans.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Spring Budget was not a Spending Review, and as such departmental spending limits are unaffected.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the (a) level of seafarers pay and (b) number of seafarers on the (i) capacity and (ii) functions of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Navy Command is introducing a number of recruitment and retention initiatives. An independent benchmarking survey has been engaged to ensure levels of pay, leave and assignment length are competitive with industry to ensure the RFA remains at the leading edge of UK shipping operators and employers.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary on the potential impact of trends in the level of pay on (a) recruitment, (b) retention and (c) training.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Navy Command is introducing a number of recruitment and retention initiatives. An independent benchmarking survey has been engaged to ensure levels of pay, leave and assignment length are competitive with industry to ensure the RFA remains at the leading edge of UK shipping operators and employers.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of steps being taken to ensure that vessels transiting Scottish and UK territorial waters are not carrying sanctioned cargo.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In delivering maritime security in the UK Marine Area, the UK operates a layered approach to coastal and maritime defence, including onshore resources and surveillance capabilities, to detect those seeking to smuggle illicit goods or to facilitate illegal entry into the UK. Through the Economic Deterrence Initiative, the Government is investing in the maritime intelligence capability of the Joint Maritime Security Centre to enhance sanctions enforcement. For vessels transiting through UK waters, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) details the right of innocent passage and freedom of navigation. The UK remains fully committed to upholding UNCLOS.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on trends in the cost of exporting food to the EU.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Trade and Continuity Agreement provides businesses tariff and quota free access to the EU market, provided that these goods meet ‘Rules of Origin’ requirements.
UK businesses must comply with customs procedures when exporting food. These procedures include Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) border controls as well as technical regulations, standards and conformity assessments. Not enough time has passed to robustly assess the trend in these costs.
In 2023, the UK exported £14.0 billion of Food, Feed and Drink to the EU. This represents a nominal increase of 0.3% compared to 2018, but 19% lower than 2018 after adjusting for inflation.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on tackling shortages and disruption to supplies of liraglutide for patients with type 2 diabetes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following intensive work with industry, the broad supply position for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in the United Kingdom has improved. However, global supply issues remain with specific medicines, including Victoza (liraglutide). We issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on the 3 January 2024 on how to manage patients requiring these medicines, with input from expert clinicians. We continue to work closely with manufacturers and others working in the supply chain to help ensure the continued supply of GLP-1 RAs for UK patients, and to resolve the remaining supply issues as quickly as possible, for example by asking suppliers to expedite deliveries.
We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help ensure that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.