Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on UK ports of the UK leaving the EU under the Government's worst case planning assumptions.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department has been liaising with ports and local partners on Brexit preparedness, for some time. In Kent, along with Highways England and other partners, the Department has been working closely to develop Operation Brock, which is intended to provide the resilience and flexibility required to deal with any disruption to cross-Channel travel from Kent ports. As well as keeping freight moving through our ports, the contingency measures of Operation Brock are designed to keep Kent’s road network moving for local people, businesses and visitors.
The Department has also engaged closely with localities outside Kent, and has recently shared revised analysis of the potential impact of a no deal Brexit on key ports with the Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) in Humber, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Merseyside, Lancashire, Essex and North Wales. It is now for those LRFs to consider how this impacts on their traffic management contingency plans and whether any amendments are required.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of the third sector on the development of a replacement programme for European social funding.
Answered by Jake Berry
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will replace the European Social Fund after we leave the EU, which was committed in the 2017 manifesto.
My Department has held 25 events in all four nations of the Union. We have met over 500 beneficiaries and interested parties, including from the third sector, to discuss their expectations for the new fund.
Their views will inform decisions about its design and priorities, which will be taken at the spending review.
We also be consulting widely in due course.
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, how many UK Pensioners residing in the EU would not receive an up-rated pension after 2022-23 in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.
The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that DWP can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access DWP benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.
In the event that the UK exits the EU without a deal we will continue to pay annual increases for UK State Pension recipients living in the EEA for a further three years, until 2022-23. We plan to negotiate an agreement with the EU to continue to pay increases in the longer term.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when officials in his Department last met with representatives of the devolved Administrations on the development of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Jake Berry
The government recognises the importance of providing certainty and clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As announced by the Prime Minister on 27 July, the government will bring forward plans on the fund. The government remains committed to consulting on the fund.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will operate across the UK. It will be part of this government’s commitment to levelling up our regions and enabling all places to benefit from economic prosperity, particularly those whose economies are furthest behind.
The government has been working closely with interested parties across the UK whilst developing the fund. It is only right that we take final decisions regarding its design, including its allocation, after a cross-government Spending Review.
UK government officials regularly discuss the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with their counterparts in the devolved administrations and the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The last meeting with representatives from all the devolved administrations was held on 2 October 2019.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what formula the Government plans to use to calculate the level of funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocated to each UK region.
Answered by Jake Berry
The government recognises the importance of providing certainty and clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As announced by the Prime Minister on 27 July, the government will bring forward plans on the fund. The government remains committed to consulting on the fund.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will operate across the UK. It will be part of this government’s commitment to levelling up our regions and enabling all places to benefit from economic prosperity, particularly those whose economies are furthest behind.
The government has been working closely with interested parties across the UK whilst developing the fund. It is only right that we take final decisions regarding its design, including its allocation, after a cross-government Spending Review.
UK government officials regularly discuss the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with their counterparts in the devolved administrations and the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The last meeting with representatives from all the devolved administrations was held on 2 October 2019.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timeframe is for the completion of the consultation on a UK Shared Prosperity fund; and if he will publish a response to that consultation.
Answered by Jake Berry
The government recognises the importance of providing certainty and clarity on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As announced by the Prime Minister on 27 July, the government will bring forward plans on the fund. The government remains committed to consulting on the fund.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will operate across the UK. It will be part of this government’s commitment to levelling up our regions and enabling all places to benefit from economic prosperity, particularly those whose economies are furthest behind.
The government has been working closely with interested parties across the UK whilst developing the fund. It is only right that we take final decisions regarding its design, including its allocation, after a cross-government Spending Review.
UK government officials regularly discuss the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with their counterparts in the devolved administrations and the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The last meeting with representatives from all the devolved administrations was held on 2 October 2019.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Operation Yellowhammer, what his Department's base case planning assumptions were before that document was published.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Yellowhammer has always considered the reasonable worst case scenario and never a ‘base’ or ‘central’ scenario. This was confirmed in the NAO report, published in March 2019, which said that in Operation Yellowhammer “Departments are working on the basis of a reasonable worst case scenario.” Some iterations of the Reasonable worst case scenario planning assumptions have used the words ‘base scenario’ as a subtitle for the contextual assumptions, outlining the background to a no-deal brexit.
Yellowhammer reasonable worst case planning assumptions are kept under review and updated planning assumptions for exiting the European Union without a deal will be published in due course.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what sectors his Department plans to prioritise for support in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department is maintaining efforts to ensure businesses across the UK are ready to leave the EU on 31 October. We continue to robustly assess the potential impact of no-deal and are engaging widely with businesses across all sectors and meeting regularly with business representative organisations and trade associations. HMRC has also put into place funding for training that helps businesses to complete customs declarations and processes and has launched a trader helpline to answer border related questions
The Business Readiness Fund makes up to £15M available to support Business Representative Organisations as they help to prepare businesses for leaving the EU on 31 October. As of 1 October, BEIS has approved 69 bids from business representative organisations. Further applications are still in the process of being reviewed. Applications have spanned a wide range of sectors and are from across the UK. We continue to encourage bids until applications close on 7 October.
In addition, we have secured £1.3 million central funding which we are directing towards targeted sector-specific engagement across the UK through sector teams to complement the Business Readiness Fund and Public Information Campaign.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding his Department has allocated to Operation Kingfisher.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
HM Treasury and the Bank of England have a number of economic tools at their disposal in preparation for EU exit and stand ready to deploy them as and when necessary.
Overall, the government has already made over £6.3bn available to prepare for EU exit. This includes £2 billion of core funding for departments for Brexit in 2020-21, which was confirmed in the recent Spending Round.
We continue to monitor and work closely with businesses across the country to help ensure they are fully prepared for when the UK leaves the EU.
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 assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the Sustain Alliance’s report entitled, Brexit food resilience for the people who need it most; and what steps her Department has taken to establish a hardship fund to ensure that vulnerable people are not affected by the disruption highlighted in (a) that report and (b) Operation Yellowhammer.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.
The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that DWP can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access DWP benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.
The Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net through the welfare system. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on benefits for people of working age. DWP continues to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy. Rates of benefits continue to be reviewed in line with the relevant legislation for uprating.