Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an update on the progress of the technical working group on Air Passenger Duty in Northern Ireland.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government established a technical working group to explore the operational and legal challenges to changing APD in Northern Ireland at Budget 2018. Members included representatives from industry, experts, and civil servants from both the UK Government and Northern Ireland.
Since the technical working group was established, the UK Government published a consultation on aviation tax reform in 2021, to consider how APD on a UK-wide basis could better support Union connectivity and the Government’s environmental objectives. As part of this process, the Government engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive and other stakeholders such as Belfast International Airport and Tourism Northern Ireland. Their views were considered alongside the consultation responses.
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government published the summary of responses to the consultation and announced that, from April 2023, it would introduce a new reduced domestic band of APD set at £6.50 for economy passengers. The new domestic band will cover flights between Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, in order to support connectivity across the UK. As a result, around 9 million passengers will pay less APD in 2023/24.
A new ultra long-haul band, will also be introduced to ensure that those who fly furthest, and have the greatest environmental impact, will pay the most.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what daily cost to the public purse has been incurred for (a) providing accommodation and (b) any other subsistence for those currently awaiting determination of their asylum application, over the most recent six month reporting period.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has plans to develop new financial support packages to help support UK shipyards to compete internationally.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is developing proposals for a Home Shipbuilding Loan Guarantee instrument as part of the cross-Whitehall National Shipbuilding Strategy. We hope to launch this instrument shortly.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to attract new maritime businesses to base themselves in the UK.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government announced that it would reform the UK’s Tonnage Tax regime to ensure that the British shipping industry remains highly competitive. These reforms came into effect in April 2022 and aim to see more firms basing their headquarters in the UK, using the UK’s world-leading maritime services industry, and flying the UK flag.
As part of these reforms, the Government is reviewing whether to include ship management within scope of the Tonnage Tax regime, and whether the existing limit that can be claimed in capital allowances by organisations leasing ships to Tonnage Tax participants remains appropriate.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will commit to setting future catch limits for cod in line with scientific advice to allow stocks to recover and rebuild.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK advocates an approach towards setting Total Allowable Catches for cod stocks and other species that is founded on the best available scientific advice, which seeks to maintain or rebuild sustainable fish stocks and fisheries in the long term. For many whitefish stocks, such as cod, a further key consideration when setting the Total Allowable Catch is their interaction with other stocks caught in the same mixed fishery.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of timely dementia diagnosis on patient outcomes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The National Institute for Care Excellence’s (NICE) quality standard on dementia states that timely diagnosis allows patients to access support and treatment at an earlier stage and families and carers can benefit from advanced care planning. The quality standard is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs184/chapter/Quality-statement-2-Diagnosis
We will set out plans for dementia in England for the next 10 years later this year,, which will include a focus on dementia diagnosis.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that (a) bottom-towed fishing gear and (b) other destructive fishing activities are banned from offshore Marine Protected Areas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
We have designated over 100 Marine Protected Areas since 2010, so that now 40% of English waters are within the protected area network. We have already committed that the next step is to ensure all of our MPAs are properly protected, supported by our proposed legally binding target under the Environment Act which we are consulting on at present. We have already introduced byelaws in the first four sites which ban bottom towed gear over sensitive habitats and published a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites. We are aiming to have all Marine Protected Areas in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland about improving dementia diagnosis rates in that country.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have had no specific discussions as health and social care for people with dementia in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made on the future of Channel 4.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government set out its plans to deliver a new golden age of British TV and to and to help the nation’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) thrive in a White Paper, published on 28 April 2022.
Channel 4 is a major pillar of these plans to safeguard the future of public service broadcasting. Following an extensive consultation, the Secretary of State has come to the conclusion that, in today’s intensely competitive broadcast economy, public ownership is holding Channel 4 back.
Channel 4 is and will remain a free-to-air PSB, just like ITV, Channel 5 and STV which are privately-owned and hugely successful. But the government will remove the restriction which effectively prohibits Channel 4 from producing and selling its own content so it can diversify its revenue streams and improve its long-term sustainability.
Whoever buys the broadcaster will inherit equivalent obligations to what it is subject to now as a Public Service Broadcaster - a requirement to support regional production outside London and England, commission a minimum volume of shows from independent producers, and to provide news as well as the original, innovative and risk-taking content it is known and loved for.
The Government will look to use some of the proceeds from the sale of Channel 4 to deliver a new creative dividend for the sector.
The Government will bring forward legislation to enable a change of ownership of Channel 4 through the Media Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has provided guidance to health and wellbeing boards on how health and wellbeing is to be applied within the context of the government heat and buildings strategy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Strangford on 16th March 2022 to Question 136558 and to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health to my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley North on 28th March 2022 to Question 128459.