Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question HL9397 on Typhoon Aircraft: Factories, what elements of the Typhoons ordered by Spain will be manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency who set the industrial sub-system production and workshare agreements across the partner nations. Through partner nation agreement, NETMA have set United Kingdom industrial workshare as 37%. Eurofighter GMBH manage its sub-system and component manufacturing orders from across the industrial base of each partner nation, in line with that workshare agreement percentage. Some of the major components that UK leads on the manufacturing include the front and rear fuselage, windscreen and canopy, fin and rudder, engine bay doors, foreplane and a range of major avionics systems.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what stages of the assembly of the Eurofighter Typhoon take place in (a) Warton, (b) Samlesbury and (c) overseas.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For UK acquired aircraft and UK led export orders, ‘final assembly’ takes place at Warton wherein the Major Equipment components which have been manufactured at Samlesbury by BAES and also by the European Partner Companies at facilities in Germany, Italy and Spain, are ultimately assembled.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of wealth taxes on national economies in countries where they exist.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.
According to the latest OECD data, the UK raises more from taxing wealth both in revenue, and as a proportion of its tax base, than Spain, Switzerland, and Norway.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increased coordination with the European Union on the mutual recognition of the Blue badge parking scheme for UK citizens travelling in EU member states.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government is committed to championing greater accessibility for disabled people and has informal reciprocal agreements in place with many other European countries so that Blue Badges can be used there; information and guidance on this can be found on GOV.UK. Those travelling overseas should always check local rules before using their Blue Badge abroad.
Through close engagement with our French friends and allies, this Government has now secured mutual recognition with them regarding our respective disabled parking permits. This means that UK Blue Badge holders can now travel with confidence when heading to France for their holidays or travel.The Department is currently working on a similar mutual recognition agreement with Spain, and we will update GOV.UK once this is finalised.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department approves temporary international remote working for staff to work remotely overseas for short defined periods of time where there is critical business need or unforeseen personal circumstances that require immediate attention outside of the United Kingdom. The Department approved 73 cases of international remote working for Department staff between 4 July 2024 and 4 July 2025. The destinations that we have approved for international remote working cases are as follows Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and USA. The Department has no approved permanent postings outside of the UK.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on obtaining reciprocal voting rights in local elections for UK citizens in Italy; and whether these negotiations are a priority for the Government.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We have existing bilateral agreements with Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Luxembourg, which were negotiated by the previous government. The UK is open to further, fully reciprocal bilateral voting agreements but these would be subject to the detail of future negotiations.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 53071 on Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries, whether he plans to make further bilateral agreements.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have existing bilateral agreements with Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Luxembourg, which were negotiated by the previous government. The UK is open to further, fully reciprocal bilateral voting agreements but these would be subject to the detail of future negotiations.
Asked by: Baroness Goldie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the closure of the Typhoon fighter jet factory in Warton.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We continue to support BAE Systems in their ongoing export campaigns for Typhoon. We recognise the central role played by Combat Air in our industrial strategy and its vital contribution to the UK economy.
Over the next 10 years, Defence has plans to invest up to £30 billion on Combat Air through the Typhoon, F-35 and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a significant proportion of which will be devoted to UK companies, particularly in north-west England.
As well as delivering a world class Combat Air fleet for our Armed Forces, this is supporting over 40,000 long-term, high-quality UK manufacturing jobs.
Recent orders placed by Spain and Italy for 25 and 24 aircraft respectively, negotiations on a potential deal with Türkiye, together with another 20 Typhoon expected to be ordered by Germany later this year, means that high-quality manufacturing jobs in BAE Systems are secure well into the 2030s.
This is because the UK leads on the manufacturing of 37% of all new Typhoon aircraft in accordance with the Eurofighter industrial workshare agreed by the four core nations (UK, Germany, Italy and Spain).
The work to deliver and integrate a new British-made ECRS Mk2 radar and integration of a new helmet called Striker II onto our existing fleet of Typhoon will also be carried out by BAE Systems Warton.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 64049 on Alcoholic Drinks, what the evidential basis is that the exclusion of the direct manufacture of alcohol beverages is in line with international conventions for green bond frameworks.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The twenty largest sovereign green bond issuers to date are: Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Japan, Ireland, Spain, Canada, India, Hungary, Chile, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Poland and Denmark. This is according to the International Capital Markets Association sustainable bond issuers database.
The following issuers explicitly exclude the financing of alcohol-related spending in their green bond frameworks: Germany, the UK, Italy, Austria, Ireland, Spain, Canada, India, Chile, Singapore, Australia, Poland and Denmark.
France’s green bond framework excludes “Production or trading of alcoholic beverages (excluding beer and wine)”. Indonesia does not refer explicitly to excluding alcohol but issues green Sukuk (Sharia-compliant bonds). The other countries’ frameworks do not include alcohol-related spending in their eligible or ineligible criteria.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to meet with his counterparts in (a) the EU and (b) Spain to discuss the status of Gibraltar.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have no plans to meet with the EU, Spain, or any other party to discuss the status of Gibraltar. This Government is fully committed to the double lock: we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their freely and democratically expressed wishes. And we will never enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content. The Foreign Secretary and I continue, side by side with the Government of Gibraltar, to work with the EU and Spain to finalise a Treaty governing Gibraltar's relationship with the EU. Political agreement, including on a clause which safeguards Gibraltar's sovereignty, was reached on 11 June and all sides are working together to finalise the Treaty as soon as possible.