Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that High Street retailers benefit from proceeds of the Digital Services Tax.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is currently consulting on the proposal for an Online Sales Tax as a means to rebalance the taxation of the retail sector between online and in-store retail.
The Digital Services Tax, on the other hand, is a 2 per cent tax on the revenues of search engines, social media services, and online marketplaces which derive value from UK users. It is a temporary solution to the challenges posed by digitalisation to the international system for taxing corporations’ profits.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to increase access to clean water for drinking and sanitation in developing counties, including desalination projects, in the last three years.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK has strong track record of supporting people in developing countries with clean water and sanitation. In the five-year period to 2020, we helped over 60 million people to gain access to clean water and/or sanitation, having also reached over 60 million people from 2011 to 2015. This was achieved using a mix of technologies and approaches depending on the location and context. We have also supported WHO and UNICEF to strengthen national service delivery and track progress towards water and sanitation global goal targets.
Desalination processes are utilised in limited instances by FCDO partners including UNICEF, primarily in coastal areas where freshwater is scarce. The capital and operational costs of desalination can be high and care is needed to mitigate the environmental impact of the brine produced by these systems. Nevertheless, in some situations including emergencies, desalination may be less expensive than options such as water trucking from a distant source. Therefore, the UK will continue to consider desalination, alongside alternatives, where water supply is needed.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department is taking to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption to reduce costs. Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.
The Government's recently published British Energy Security Strategy will protect the UK from price spikes in the future by accelerating our move towards cleaner, cheaper, home-grown energy.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) support groups for victims of domestic abuse and (b) increase the availability of such groups.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that dairy farmers (a) benefit from trade agreements and (b) have standards retained.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he has plans to celebrate Black Country Day on the 14 July 2022.
Answered by Boris Johnson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department is taking to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The Department is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption to reduce costs. The Department's current targets to make progress on reducing emissions have been published as part of the Greening Government Commitments. The Government's recently published British Energy Security Strategy will protect the UK from price spikes in the future by accelerating our move towards cleaner, cheaper, home-grown energy.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Conor Burns
My Department is committed to making our estate and operations more sustainable and resilient, and supports, where possible, the delivery of this Government’s Greening Government Commitments. We are a small department, with a low carbon footprint arising from our accommodation and corporate travel requirements, and we choose to act sustainably when conducting every part of our business. As an example, we are taking steps to reduce our carbon emissions by utilising technology to enable virtual meetings rather than staff flying short haul between London and Belfast to attend all meetings face to face.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that UK dairy farmers benefit from trade agreements and that UK industry standards are retained in those agreements.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Global demand for British food and drink is enormous, because British food and drink is the best in the world. We are an independent trading nation and have already started seizing new opportunities for British farmers that were previously denied to us. Recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Australia and New Zealand have achieved complete tariff removal for exports of our dairy products into those countries. We aim to deliver the export potential in international markets by further improving access for UK dairy products, by raising awareness, and by encouraging broader participation in exporting in both scale and variety.
The Government will help our farmers capitalise on global demand and will support companies through all stages of the export journey. Our online platform GREAT.gov.uk, the Export Support Service, Export Academy, UK Tradeshow Programme and UK Export Finance all serve our desire to grow UK exports.
In September last year, to mark Back British Farming Day, Government announced a package of support including establishment of a new UK-wide Food and Drink Exports Council to bring together industry and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to boost exports from all parts of the UK and building export capability in the sector (especially in SMEs); and the appointment of dedicated agri-food attachés, providing on-the-ground support to unlock and drive export opportunities from strategic locations around the world, covering the growth markets of the Gulf, Africa, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The UK Government has made a clear manifesto commitment that in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. The independent Trade and Agriculture Committee (TAC) recently published their report into the Australia free trade agreement, concluding that the deal reinforces our statutory protections in these areas.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on ensuring conservation education is taught in schools in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I recently met with DfE's Minister Walker to discuss the importance of increasing children's connection and access to nature and to expand educational opportunities to support green skills and jobs. Defra and DfE worked closely on the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy which was published on Thursday 21 April. The strategy includes the following commitments where conservation education will play a key role in delivery:
1. A commitment from DfE to increase opportunities for all children and young people to spend time in nature, learn more about it, and get involved in improving their local environment.
2. A commitment to build on the investment into the Children and Nature Programme by engaging with Defra on more research into outdoor learning and how to help schools deliver it. DfE also commit to embedding the learning from the Children and Nature Programme into their two new initiatives - the National Education Nature Park and the Climate Leaders Award. By 2030, they anticipate that participation in the National Education Nature Park, and increased opportunities to connect with nature, will increase the number of young people who become data scientists, ecologists and biologists.
3. A goal to introduce a new natural history GCSE by 2025, which will include developing a deeper understanding of conservation. This will be accompanied by a pathway of learning for children up to GCSE level so that they have the knowledge and skills to undertake the GCSE. This includes a new Primary Science Model Curriculum with an emphasis on nature. This will raise the profile of education on nature and climate change and help to ensure that young people have the right skills to progress into a career in green jobs if they choose to do so.
4. The Strategy recognises the 25 Year Environment Plan as a driver of green jobs and skills needs alongside the Net Zero Strategy and sets out the natural environment training on offer. DfE have also committed to working with Defra to help develop this offer where gaps are identified through the Green Jobs Delivery Group.