Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of agreeing a two-year, multi-entry touring visa on a reciprocal basis with the EU in order to preserve touring as economically viable for UK musicians.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
We will announce the details of the UK’s future immigration system early next year.
We recognise that international collaboration plays a vital part in the contribution that the creative industries make to the UK’s rich culture and economy. The future system will work in the best interests of the whole of the UK, including that of the creative sector.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has not carried out a formal assessment of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Although the management and deployment of ATMs is a commercial matter for ATM market participants, the Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.
The number of free-to-use ATMs increased for over a decade up to 2017, with the majority of ATMs clustered in areas of high demand and footfall. LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM network, saw this situation as unsustainable. Therefore, in January 2018, LINK announced reductions to the interchange fee, while taking steps to preserve the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs. This included protections for remote free-to-use ATMs, one kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM or Post Office.
In July 2018, LINK responded to lower transaction volumes at ATMs by cancelling the third reduction of interchange fees due in January 2020 and putting on hold the 4th reduction that was due in January 2021.
More recently, LINK committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there are five or more qualifying retailers – and announced £1 million to fund requests for new ATMs from local areas with poor access to cash. Furthermore, UK Finance – the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector – has launched a Community Access to Cash Initiative, offering grants to local communities to improve cash access.
As of June 2019, there were 48,500 free-to-use ATMs in the UK, which represented 78% of the total number of ATMs. This remains 21% higher than a decade ago.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has not carried out a formal assessment of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Although the management and deployment of ATMs is a commercial matter for ATM market participants, the Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.
The number of free-to-use ATMs increased for over a decade up to 2017, with the majority of ATMs clustered in areas of high demand and footfall. LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM network, saw this situation as unsustainable. Therefore, in January 2018, LINK announced reductions to the interchange fee, while taking steps to preserve the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs. This included protections for remote free-to-use ATMs, one kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM or Post Office.
In July 2018, LINK responded to lower transaction volumes at ATMs by cancelling the third reduction of interchange fees due in January 2020 and putting on hold the 4th reduction that was due in January 2021.
More recently, LINK committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there are five or more qualifying retailers – and announced £1 million to fund requests for new ATMs from local areas with poor access to cash. Furthermore, UK Finance – the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector – has launched a Community Access to Cash Initiative, offering grants to local communities to improve cash access.
As of June 2019, there were 48,500 free-to-use ATMs in the UK, which represented 78% of the total number of ATMs. This remains 21% higher than a decade ago.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress the Government has made on establishing a new cross-government disability team.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 25 June the Government announced that a cross-government Disability Unit would be created. Since then the Cabinet Office has recruited officials from across government, including secondees from DWP, BEIS, DCMS, DfT, DHSC, MHCLG, MoJ and ONS.
Officials from the Office for Disability Issues in the Department of Work and Pensions will transfer to the new Disability Unit in November 2019. The Disability Unit will sit alongside the Government Equalities Office and the Race Disparity Unit in a new Cabinet Office Equalities Hub.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to introduce a cap investment strategy for NHS mental health trusts.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable MP) on 17 October to Question 20.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Answer of 4 October 2019 to Question 290576 on Low incomes: Food, how many exit scenarios the Government has planned for; what the cost of those plans are; and what form those plans take.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Prime Minister has negotiated a new deal which would ensure that the UK leaves the EU in an orderly and friendly way.
However, the Government is also well prepared for a no deal scenario. The Treasury has made over £8.3 billion available to prepare for Brexit, including £2.1 billion in August this year to increase preparations for leaving without a deal.
The food industry is experienced in dealing with scenarios that can affect food supply, from adverse weather damaging crops in other countries to transport issues abroad. The Government has been meeting weekly with industry and retailers to make sure we are prepared for all exit scenarios.
The Government remains committed to providing support to those who need it most, and the national benefit system will continue to provide a strong safety net, delivering over £200 billion in support this year. In particular, the Government continues to spend over £95 billion a year on welfare benefits. This includes a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans as an additional safeguard for those who need them.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, on what date representatives of UK Export Finance last met renewable energy developers in Argentina.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Over the past year, UK Export Finance (UKEF) has had frequent and ongoing engagement with multiple stakeholders on renewable energy in Argentina. Most recently, in September 2019, a UKEF official participated in a panel on renewable energy organised by the British Argentine Chamber of Commerce at the EIC Connect Energy event in Manchester.
UKEF officials last visited Argentina in February 2018 where they met representatives from the renewable energy sector.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What steps his Department has taken to implement Operation Yellowhammer in the transport sector.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department has worked extensively with our stakeholders across the transport sector to prepare for Brexit. In Kent our work with the Local Resilience Forum has helped deliver Operation Brock, the locally owned and activated plan that will manage traffic disruption in Kent
We are conducting a comprehensive multi-channel campaign to improve trader readiness. We produced a Haulier Handbook in conjunction with industry which has been delivered to 82,000 UK hauliers and managers. We have over 100 Brexit information pop-ups live in the UK and 26 at EU sites, including 600 ferry crossings a week.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research conducted by 38 degrees showing that 571 people in Carshalton and Wallington have type 1 diabetes and rely on daily insulin, what assessment his Department has made of the distribution and number of diabetes sufferers in the UK; and what steps his department has taken to secure undisrupted supply of insulin across the UK in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of people registered with diabetes at a general practitioner (GP) practice in 2017-18 by clinical commissioning group and diabetes type in England can be found in the attached table.
The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should help to ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products, including insulin, once we have left the EU.
As part of our EU exit preparations, we are implementing a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply, which consists of stockpiling where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential shortages.
All three suppliers of insulin have publicly stated that they have significantly increased their United Kingdom stockpiles, and have met the Government request that they hold at least six weeks’ worth of extra stock in addition to their usual operational stocks.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Prime Minister's proposed EU exit deal, what assessment his Department has made of the economic effect on businesses in Northern Ireland of the imposition of checks on both the North-South and East-West border.
Answered by James Duddridge
The new Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration, agreed between the UK and the EU on 17 October, protects the economy of Northern Ireland and Ireland by ensuring that all businesses can continue to trade easily across the North-South border without checks or controls at, or near the border.