Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 5 March (HL1872), why they have adopted the EU's legislation on the use of growth hormones in food production; and what caused the change in policy held by previous governments on that legislation within the Council of European Agricultural Ministers.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As a Member State, the UK transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into domestic law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland.
The law reflects UK Government policy on the use of growth hormones in food production and remains in force now we have left the EU.
The UK is committed to maintaining our current high food safety and animal welfare standards and these protections will continue now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the IMF on supporting developing countries experiencing the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Duddridge
The department is working closely with HM Treasury to ensure that the IMF continues to play its critical role at the centre of the global financial safety net, including supporting the poorest and most vulnerable countries to respond to the economic costs of the COVID19 pandemic.
The UK has been pressing for improvements to the IMF’s existing toolkit, such as increasing the access limits on the IMF’s emergency financing instruments, which was agreed by the IMF Board on 7 April. The details of this can be found here: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2020/04/09/Enhancing-the-Emergency-Financing-Toolkit-Responding-To-The-COVID-19-Pandemic-49320?cid=em-COM-123-41385
DFID is providing up to £150 million as the UK contribution to the IMF Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, to support the poorest developing countries with debt relief to support public finances during this crisis. The IMF recently announced the first tranche of support through this Trust will be disbursed to 25 countries. We will continue to engage with the IMF to ensure that it can effectively support vulnerable countries during this unprecedented global health and economic crisis, and has adequate resources to meet the needs of developing countries. The Chancellor has announced an additional GBP 2.2 billion of UK loan resources for the IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides concessional lending to developing countries.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether beef from hormone-implanted cattle can be identified if there are higher levels of such hormones present in bull beef than beef from hormone-implanted steers.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There are prototype analytical methods that give a good indication of whether a substance is naturally occurring. However, these need further refinement before they can be considered suitably robust and reliable for regulatory use.
Furthermore, the UK has transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into national law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland. This legislation prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported products as well as provides for the monitoring of residues of substances. This protection will continue now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether new evidence has appeared since the European Economic Community imposed a ban on sales of hormone-implanted beef in 1989 about the safety of such beef; and if so, (1) whether that evidence has changed the UK's view that the practice of hormone implantation is safe, and (2) what is the nature of that evidence.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
No new evidence in relation to the use of hormones as growth promotors has been reviewed by the UK Government’s independent Veterinary Products Committee since 2007.
The UK has transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into national law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland. This legislation prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported products as well as provides for the monitoring of residues of substances. This protection will continue now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding the Government has allocated for each financial year of the Beeching Reversal Fund to (a) Scotland and (b) the UK; and what the Barnett consequentials are for that funding.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK Government’s announcement is for £500m funding to support railway re-openings within the territory for which it has funding responsibility (England and Wales). It has no immediate implications for DfT’s spending limits, and therefore none for funding of railways in the Devolved Administrations.
The final profile and exact funding arrangements for the reversing Beeching Fund have not yet been agreed. Final decisions on funding will be made at the Spending Review in the usual way.
Her Majesty’s Government is clear about the benefit of pan UK connections and is, for example, supporting the examination of the potential reopening of the Edinburgh- Carlisle ‘Waverley line’ as part of the Borders Growth Deal.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the new spending on re-opening historic railway lines announced on 28 January will (a) apply to England only and (b) result in Barnett consequentials for the devolved administrations.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK Government’s announcement is for £500m funding to support railway re-openings within the territory for which it has funding responsibility (England and Wales). It has no immediate implications for DfT’s spending limits, and therefore none for funding of railways in the Devolved Administrations.
The final profile and exact funding arrangements for the reversing Beeching Fund have not yet been agreed. Final decisions on funding will be made at the Spending Review in the usual way.
Her Majesty’s Government is clear about the benefit of pan UK connections. For example, elsewhere in the United Kingdom the Government is supporting the examination of the potential reopening of the Edinburgh- Carlisle ‘Waverley line’ as part of the Borders Growth Deal.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps Northern Ireland Government Departments have taken to encourage the use of Financial Transactions Capital.
Answered by Julian Smith
In 2012-13, the UK Government introduced Financial Transactions Capital (FTC). FTC is designed to stimulate private sector investment in projects that benefit the region, over and above the level of investment made by the Executive from its Departmental Expenditure Limits.
FTC funding is allocated to the Devolved Administrations, which has discretion over its allocation to projects. The Department of Finance in Northern Ireland has provided the following information which sets out the allocation decisions for this year. Further information on how the NI Civil Service encourages the use of FTC can be requested from the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland.
FTC Allocations | 2019-20 |
Invest NI - Agri-Food Loan Scheme | 1,000 |
Invest NI - Growth Loan Fund | 2,400 |
Invest NI Other Projects | 4,225 |
Northern Ireland Science Park | 3,190 |
Higher Education | 63,483 |
Co-Ownership Housing | 26,244 |
NI Investment Fund | 30,000 |
Housing for people with learning disabilities | 10,000 |
Total Projects: | 140,542 |
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Road Investment Strategy 2015-2021, what progress has been made on delivering sustainable transport outcomes through environmental, social and economic objectives.
Answered by George Freeman
Through the Road Investment Strategy (RIS), Highways England is investing £675 million to improve the environmental, social and economic impacts of the Strategic Road Network, with designated funds across five areas: environmental; cycling, safety and integration; air quality; growth and housing; and innovation.
In April 2017 Highways England published its Sustainable Development and Environment Strategies, setting out its vision for ensuring its work supports society and the wider national interest, as well as both minimising environmental impact, and improving it where possible.
Some examples of activity in 2018-19 include the delivery of 300 noise mitigation measures towards its 5-year target of 1150, 59 more electric vehicle charge points to meet its commitment of 95% coverage by the end of 2019-20, and a contribution to Leeds City Council’s scheme to implement an electric van centre of excellence.
Over the course of the RIS, Highways England is also supporting 28 schemes as part of its Growth and Housing Fund to unlock the development of housing and employment sites across the country. Highways England expect over 45,000 homes and 44,000 jobs to be developed over the lifetime of these developments.
Highways England continues to work closely with the Department for Transport, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the Joint Air Quality Unit to support the delivery of the National Air Quality Plan, including work to meet limits on nitrogen dioxide in the shortest timescale possible.
As a statutory planning consultee, Highways England responds to local authority plans and planning applications in a way that seeks to promote sustainable transport outcomes and avoid unnecessary works to the SRN. Highways England’s Planning Guide, published earlier in the RIS, sets out how it does this, alongside its requirement to ensure that any new development can safely be accommodated around its network. Highways England regularly engages with those in the development industry to ensure its responses and approach to planning are in line with its expectations as well as those of its customers, including how it enables development through delivery of sustainable transport outcomes.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to hold discussions with the government of the Ivory Coast about honouring presidential term limits.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government has a strong partnership with Cote d’Ivoire. Stability and inclusive economic growth are shared priorities, with a view to consolidating peace after a decade of crisis and uncertainty. We take every opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to peaceful, free and credible elections in 2020, in line with international law, and encourage all parties to work towards this goal. We have done so directly with government and opposition political parties in Cote d’Ivoire and at the 42nd Human Rights Council on 19 September in Geneva. The 2016 constitution of Cote d’Ivoire stipulates a two-term limit on Presidential mandates, which the incumbent will have reached by the 2020 elections. The elections are the responsibility of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, all political parties and the Ivoirian people. We urge all parties to participate responsibly, engage fully in the process and avoid the use of inflammatory language. We continue to follow developments closely and hope to see extensive domestic and international observation encouraging transparency and due process before and during the elections in 2020.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the annual revenue raised by Clause 16 and Schedule 4 of the Finance Act 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Clause 16 Schedule 4 of the Finance Act 2018 sets out legislation to enable knowledge-intensive companies to raise more growth capital through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts.
These schemes provide relief for individuals investing in qualifying enterprises, which are higher-risk, early stage enterprise seeking to grow and develop their trade. Raising the investment limits for knowledge-intensive enterprises does not directly raise revenue for the Exchequer. The Government does not monitor any revenue that may be raised indirectly.