Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on farmers of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Rory Stewart
60% of our food and drink exports go to the EU; this is worth £11 billion to our economy. This is a vital income for UK farmers and fishermen. If we were to leave the EU, exporters would face crippling tariffs when selling their goods to Europe, such as up to 70% for beef products, which would cost around £240 million per year.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingent financial support is being provided for project risks associated with the Thames Tideway Tunnel infrastructure project; and what limit has been set on such support.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Written Ministerial Statement of 5 June 2014 (Official Record, Col. 11WS) sets out the reasons for the Government’s decision to provide contingent financial support for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project, and the scope of that provision. The TTT project will be financed and delivered by a competitively tendered Infrastructure Provider (IP), which will be an entirely separate entity to Thames Water. This will keep project costs down and provide value for money for customers.
The support package is designed to make sure taxpayers’ interests are protected throughout the construction phase to which it applies, and the likelihood of it being called upon is remote. If the support package is not called upon, there will be no cost to the taxpayer. The IP will pay the Government for certain limbs of the support package at an appropriate commercial rate. The precise financial details of the package and particular circumstances under which Government equity or short-term loans would be provided to the project remain commercially sensitive while procurement of the IP is ongoing.
The Government formally notified the European Commission of the State Aid implications of the support package earlier this year. The EC has yet to announce its decision on State Aid approval. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of Thames Water’s procurement of the IP when it is complete.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, under what circumstances the Government would invest equity in the Thames Tideway Tunnel infrastructure project.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Written Ministerial Statement of 5 June 2014 (Official Record, Col. 11WS) sets out the reasons for the Government’s decision to provide contingent financial support for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project, and the scope of that provision. The TTT project will be financed and delivered by a competitively tendered Infrastructure Provider (IP), which will be an entirely separate entity to Thames Water. This will keep project costs down and provide value for money for customers.
The support package is designed to make sure taxpayers’ interests are protected throughout the construction phase to which it applies, and the likelihood of it being called upon is remote. If the support package is not called upon, there will be no cost to the taxpayer. The IP will pay the Government for certain limbs of the support package at an appropriate commercial rate. The precise financial details of the package and particular circumstances under which Government equity or short-term loans would be provided to the project remain commercially sensitive while procurement of the IP is ongoing.
The Government formally notified the European Commission of the State Aid implications of the support package earlier this year. The EC has yet to announce its decision on State Aid approval. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of Thames Water’s procurement of the IP when it is complete.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether state aid approval from the EU Commission has been granted for the financial support package for the Thames Tideway Tunnel infrastructure project.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Written Ministerial Statement of 5 June 2014 (Official Record, Col. 11WS) sets out the reasons for the Government’s decision to provide contingent financial support for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project, and the scope of that provision. The TTT project will be financed and delivered by a competitively tendered Infrastructure Provider (IP), which will be an entirely separate entity to Thames Water. This will keep project costs down and provide value for money for customers.
The support package is designed to make sure taxpayers’ interests are protected throughout the construction phase to which it applies, and the likelihood of it being called upon is remote. If the support package is not called upon, there will be no cost to the taxpayer. The IP will pay the Government for certain limbs of the support package at an appropriate commercial rate. The precise financial details of the package and particular circumstances under which Government equity or short-term loans would be provided to the project remain commercially sensitive while procurement of the IP is ongoing.
The Government formally notified the European Commission of the State Aid implications of the support package earlier this year. The EC has yet to announce its decision on State Aid approval. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of Thames Water’s procurement of the IP when it is complete.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what commitment she has made to provide loans should the Thames Tideway Tunnel infrastructure project be unable to access debt capital markets.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Written Ministerial Statement of 5 June 2014 (Official Record, Col. 11WS) sets out the reasons for the Government’s decision to provide contingent financial support for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project, and the scope of that provision. The TTT project will be financed and delivered by a competitively tendered Infrastructure Provider (IP), which will be an entirely separate entity to Thames Water. This will keep project costs down and provide value for money for customers.
The support package is designed to make sure taxpayers’ interests are protected throughout the construction phase to which it applies, and the likelihood of it being called upon is remote. If the support package is not called upon, there will be no cost to the taxpayer. The IP will pay the Government for certain limbs of the support package at an appropriate commercial rate. The precise financial details of the package and particular circumstances under which Government equity or short-term loans would be provided to the project remain commercially sensitive while procurement of the IP is ongoing.
The Government formally notified the European Commission of the State Aid implications of the support package earlier this year. The EC has yet to announce its decision on State Aid approval. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of Thames Water’s procurement of the IP when it is complete.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the likelihood and scale of the risks associated with the Thames Tideway Tunnel infrastructure project that may create exposure for the public purse.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Written Ministerial Statement of 5 June 2014 (Official Record, Col. 11WS) sets out the reasons for the Government’s decision to provide contingent financial support for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project, and the scope of that provision. The TTT project will be financed and delivered by a competitively tendered Infrastructure Provider (IP), which will be an entirely separate entity to Thames Water. This will keep project costs down and provide value for money for customers.
The support package is designed to make sure taxpayers’ interests are protected throughout the construction phase to which it applies, and the likelihood of it being called upon is remote. If the support package is not called upon, there will be no cost to the taxpayer. The IP will pay the Government for certain limbs of the support package at an appropriate commercial rate. The precise financial details of the package and particular circumstances under which Government equity or short-term loans would be provided to the project remain commercially sensitive while procurement of the IP is ongoing.
The Government formally notified the European Commission of the State Aid implications of the support package earlier this year. The EC has yet to announce its decision on State Aid approval. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of Thames Water’s procurement of the IP when it is complete.
Asked by: Roger Mullin (Scottish National Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on government financial support to enable the Thames Tideway Tunnel infrastructure project to attract private sector financing.
Answered by Rory Stewart
A Written Ministerial Statement of 5 June 2014 (Official Record, Col. 11WS) sets out the reasons for the Government’s decision to provide contingent financial support for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) project, and the scope of that provision. The TTT project will be financed and delivered by a competitively tendered Infrastructure Provider (IP), which will be an entirely separate entity to Thames Water. This will keep project costs down and provide value for money for customers.
The support package is designed to make sure taxpayers’ interests are protected throughout the construction phase to which it applies, and the likelihood of it being called upon is remote. If the support package is not called upon, there will be no cost to the taxpayer. The IP will pay the Government for certain limbs of the support package at an appropriate commercial rate. The precise financial details of the package and particular circumstances under which Government equity or short-term loans would be provided to the project remain commercially sensitive while procurement of the IP is ongoing.
The Government formally notified the European Commission of the State Aid implications of the support package earlier this year. The EC has yet to announce its decision on State Aid approval. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of Thames Water’s procurement of the IP when it is complete.