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Written Question
Performing Arts: EU Countries
Monday 25th July 2022

Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support UK touring acts that are facing challenges as a result of being limited to making three stops in Europe.

Answered by Matt Warman

The Government is committed to supporting the touring sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.

With regards to the movement of vehicles, the Department for Transport has implemented a Dual Registration measure. This enables specialist event hauliers who have an established haulage base outside Great Britain (GB) and who also maintain a GB haulage base and operate for hire and reward to temporarily transfer their vehicles between their two operator licences. We have also confirmed that ‘splitter vans’ that are carrying both equipment (which is not for sale) and up to 9 people do not fall in the scope of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and their use is therefore subject to the applicable Member State law.

EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake. Following the Government’s engagement, almost all EU Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK musicians and creative performers. This includes Spain and Greece, who introduced visa and work permit free touring routes in November 2021 and June 2022 respectively, following extensive Government and sectoral engagement.

We are working with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible. We have published general business traveller summaries on GOV.UK, as well as ‘landing pages’ on GOV.UK for the creative sectors.

The Government supports our world leading creative industries across the UK through a range of export support programmes, including the successful Music Export Growth Scheme and the International Showcase Fund. In addition, UK businesses, including touring professionals, can get answers to practical questions online and by telephone through the Export Support Service.

The UK’s immigration rules for touring creative professionals are comparatively more generous than in many EU Member States. The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, to undertake paid work in the UK through routes which are set out on specific pages for the creative sectors on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Aviation: EU Nationals
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) airlines and (b) airports (i) follow Government guidance on the use of national identification documents by people with Settled Status going to and from the EU and (ii) ensure that travellers are aware of that guidance.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We have issued advice to airlines confirming EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) may continue to use a national identity card to enter the UK.

We have also advised airlines they do not currently need to establish whether a person has been granted EUSS status, and is thus entitled to use a national identity card, when deciding whether to bring them to the UK but may use the online View and Prove service if they elect to do so.

GOV.UK provides advice on documentary requirements, including the use of national identity cards, for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens with status under the EU Settlement Scheme travelling to the UK. If you're from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Carriers can, and do, play a role in encouraging their passengers to check that they are properly documented for travel to the UK for example by providing advice or links to government guidance on their websites and apps. However, it is ultimately a matter for individual carriers what information they provide for their passengers.


Written Question
Immigration: EU Nationals
Monday 27th June 2022

Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is undertaking to ensure that Border Force staff provide airlines with accurate information when they are contacted on the use of National Identification documents by people with Settled Status travelling to the EU.

Answered by Kevin Foster

Documentary requirements for passengers seeking to travel from the UK are a matter for the destination country, and passengers should ensure they meet those requirements. The Home Office does not routinely engage with carriers in relation to documentary requirements for outbound travel as we are not responsible for or set the rules related to this.

GOV.UK does, however, provide advice for British citizens planning to travel to the EU. This advice can be viewed here: Visiting the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein: Checks for all types of travel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Written Question
Fish: Prices
Monday 20th June 2022

Asked by: Ian Levy (Conservative - Blyth Valley)

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 tackle the rising cost of fish; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of relaxing the rules on fishing quarters to help increase supply and tackle the rising cost of fish.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Food prices are influenced by a range of factors - from currency fluctuations to commodity prices. The UK has a highly resilient and diverse food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges – including sourcing a large amount of the fish we consume from countries such as Iceland and Norway. The majority of UK seafood consumption is imported, meaning prices on UK supermarket shelves are largely determined by international supply and demand.

It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by the companies. Food prices fluctuate in any given year and are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, exchange rates, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.

We will continue to speak with industry to understand and support them in coping with any potential pressures. We do not intend to amend fishing quotas because they are an important tool, based on scientific evidence, for managing sustainable fisheries.


Written Question
NATO: Military Exercises
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK (a) personnel and (b) platforms will be involved in the NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose, which will begin on 13 June 2022.

Answered by James Heappey

NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose is an anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare interoperability exercise conducted within the Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom Gap. Bringing together nine NATO Allies, the exercise is designed to practice, demonstrate and refine the Alliance's continued adaptation to an ever-evolving and challenging regional security environment. The UK contribution will include approximately 200 Service personnel, a Type 23 Frigate (HMS Portland), and a Poseidon-8 maritime patrol aircraft.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which countries the UK has (a) bilateral or (b) reciprocal agreements on provision of the State Pension; when each of those agreements was made, whether UK pensioners resident in those countries receive yearly increases; and how many UK pensioners there were in each country as of 9 June 2022.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is up-rated annually in countries where there is a legal requirement to do so. This is a longstanding policy which has been supported by successive governments for over 70 years.

As of November 2020, 473,842 State Pension recipients residing in the European Union or countries which are members of the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein) receive annual up-rating under various EU-Exit related agreements, including the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, which entered into force in 2020 and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in 2021.

Other countries with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement also allowing for State Pension up-rating, the date in which the particular agreement was made, and the number of State Pension recipients residing in these countries (as of November 2020) are:

  • Barbados (1992) – 3,849 recipients.
  • Bermuda (1969) – 718 recipients.
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina* (1958) – 31 recipients.
  • Israel (1957) – 5,077 recipients.
  • Jamaica (1997) – 10,807 recipients.
  • Kosovo* (1958) – no data.
  • Mauritius (1981) – 1,007 recipients.
  • Montenegro* (1958) – 0 recipients.
  • North Macedonia* (1958) – 121 recipients.
  • Serbia* (1958) – 9 recipients.
  • Philippines (1989) – 3,144 recipients.
  • Turkey (1961) – 1,870 recipients.
  • USA (1984) – 126,977 recipients.

*Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, the UK agreement with former Yugoslavia now covers Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Croatia and Slovenia are EU Member States covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The UK also has reciprocal social security agreements with New Zealand (1983) and Canada (1995) covering provisions for State Pension, but these agreements do not provide for annual up-rating. As of November 2020, 63,930 State Pension recipients reside in New Zealand and 126,426 recipients reside in Canada.

Source:

State Pension statistics by country of residence are currently available to November 2020 and these are available on Stat-Xplore here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html

     


Written Question
China: Defence
Wednesday 15th June 2022

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) European and (b) US counterparts on tackling Chinese military aggression.

Answered by James Heappey

The Secretary of State for Defence regularly speaks with his counterparts in Europe and the US, in both bilateral and multilateral groupings, on the threats and challenges to global defence and security. China's military aggression and cooperation to manage malign Chinese activity globally frequently feature as part of these discussions.

Most recently this has included with the Northern Group in Iceland last week, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense in London on 26 May 2022 and the US Secretary of Defense in Washington D.C. on 12 May 2022. Further regular discussions are also held bilaterally by the Department.


Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported under the Balai Directive in each month of (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 as of 6 June 2022; and from which countries those dogs originated.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Since we left the EU, the EU import data for 2021 and 2022 was collated from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Post Import Management System (PIMS) and accounts for all imports into Great Britain that have been entered using IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system).

For 2020, the data was extracted from TRACES NT through the data warehouse facility.

The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS and TRACES by traders.

From 14 April 2022 Great Britain temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets if they originated from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.

Please find data below.

2020 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

June

Austria

3

Belgium

1

1

Bulgaria

32

9

20

39

Croatia

13

17

2

9

32

Cyprus

286

271

185

61

229

348

Czechia

1

3

3

19

13

Denmark

1

England

Estonia

Finland

1

1

France

1

7

17

4

Germany

6

2

1

2

5

20

Greece

22

44

22

26

42

Hungary

259

241

138

113

318

435

Iceland

Italy

1

1

4

19

Latvia

Lithuania

1

1

1

Luxembourg

Malta

1

Netherlands

5

1

1

Northern Ireland

Norway

Poland

108

102

106

80

187

279

Portugal

3

9

1

20

Republic of Ireland

694

658

467

99

309

480

Romania

1944

1705

870

529

2585

2814

Scotland

Slovakia

3

3

2

Slovenia

2

1

Spain

440

324

155

32

491

646

Sweden

3

1

Switzerland

1

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

3810

3391

1987

934

4190

5202

2020 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Austria

1

2

1

1

Belgium

2

3

6

Bulgaria

20

20

1

41

40

Croatia

3

14

18

8

6

31

Cyprus

575

266

595

492

414

524

Czechia

14

14

10

9

10

39

Denmark

1

England

Estonia

5

7

2

7

Finland

1

2

2

France

1

1

1

1

Germany

17

2

19

11

18

Greece

61

154

52

65

46

29

Hungary

542

395

588

649

717

670

Iceland

Italy

17

19

41

54

42

45

Latvia

1

2

2

Lithuania

2

1

3

8

42

40

Luxembourg

Malta

1

2

1

Netherlands

6

9

4

12

Northern Ireland

Norway

Poland

349

314

514

527

678

700

Portugal

44

45

63

50

74

34

Republic of Ireland

461

449

640

572

508

477

Romania

3427

3166

3454

3854

3587

4590

Scotland

Slovakia

11

14

15

24

17

17

Slovenia

1

1

Spain

752

407

810

682

716

1020

Sweden

1

9

1

Switzerland

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

6309

5272

6826

7031

6944

8293

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

June

Austria

14

4

Belgium

19

7

8

8

8

5

Bulgaria

35

65

113

74

116

131

Croatia

27

125

118

207

196

Cyprus

143

485

323

384

205

415

Czechia

14

14

19

17

20

Denmark

12

1

184

England

1

6

4

6

7

Estonia

16

5

Finland

1

2

1

France

6

58

40

48

17

111

Germany

2

4

4

11

17

Greece

13

31

24

116

164

79

Hungary

35

234

865

621

582

358

Iceland

1

Italy

4

29

35

26

9

33

Latvia

36

25

66

61

45

Lithuania

28

35

75

62

32

28

Luxembourg

Malta

1

Netherlands

9

4

2

5

6

3

Northern Ireland

2

Norway

1

Poland

131

318

564

587

688

566

Portugal

1

34

69

59

43

78

Republic of Ireland

96

529

717

560

654

640

Romania

558

3609

4220

4788

3696

3199

Scotland

1

Slovakia

5

32

39

27

17

22

Slovenia

1

3

1

Spain

117

269

637

702

573

590

Sweden

5

2

1

1

1

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

1

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

1

Grand Total

1201

5832

7937

8305

7125

6724

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Austria

2

1

1

Belgium

7

6

5

3

2

Bulgaria

96

44

157

110

86

66

Croatia

282

223

132

254

246

193

Cyprus

297

396

345

325

165

275

Czechia

22

18

25

22

20

30

Denmark

58

210

43

94

117

England

20

3

8

7

9

1

Estonia

1

1

Finland

1

1

1

1

France

38

26

16

12

32

7

Germany

7

9

8

5

5

4

Greece

110

98

124

110

88

60

Hungary

322

223

402

302

277

296

Iceland

Italy

35

29

35

17

36

8

Latvia

43

28

57

55

69

27

Lithuania

81

71

82

77

55

52

Luxembourg

2

Malta

2

Netherlands

4

34

23

28

16

18

Northern Ireland

Norway

1

1

Poland

480

486

543

492

405

333

Portugal

53

22

42

46

28

25

Republic of Ireland

557

620

651

557

633

444

Romania

3328

2871

3108

3452

2825

2427

Scotland

Slovakia

23

21

32

22

33

18

Slovenia

1

1

Spain

729

316

539

490

539

408

Sweden

2

1

33

1

2

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

6538

5610

6548

6463

5667

4816

2022 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

1/6/22 to 6/6/22

Austria

3

2

Belgium

10

4

5

3

Bulgaria

79

40

95

115

244

57

Croatia

145

190

358

248

239

Cyprus

335

282

275

77

253

11

Czechia

14

11

10

18

23

Denmark

1

19

67

97

32

England

1

2

7

3

Estonia

4

8

Finland

1

1

1

France

16

18

16

2

3

Germany

22

21

7

11

15

4

Greece

54

48

33

29

20

1

Hungary

164

253

224

226

271

33

Iceland

Italy

7

44

32

35

18

Latvia

56

32

54

41

38

2

Lithuania

36

63

52

31

28

9

Luxembourg

1

Malta

Netherlands

24

17

12

9

4

1

Northern Ireland

1

12

Norway

3

2

Poland

320

339

334

175

46

2

Portugal

30

36

30

24

43

9

Republic of Ireland

635

670

632

534

622

65

Romania

2529

2365

2531

1181

38

13

Scotland

Slovakia

17

13

12

17

14

1

Slovenia

1

Spain

480

529

448

415

352

65

Sweden

2

3

1

1

Switzerland

1

1

Wales

UK

1

2

Isle of Man

2

(blank)

Grand Total

4983

4999

5236

3304

2331

273


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which department authorised the four most recent agreements for overseas British pensioners to receive state pension increases; and what dates those agreements were made.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Disregarding any agreements which continued the existing arrangements for State Pension uprating, such as those with Ireland, the EU and Switzerland, the table below lists the four most recent social security agreements that provide for State Pension uprating with countries where the pension was not previously uprated. These agreements were approved by Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions or its predecessor Department.

Country

Agreement entered into force

Barbados

1 April 1992

Philippines

1 December 1989

Iceland

1 August 1985

Mauritius

1 November 1981


Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Tuesday 31st May 2022

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported under the Balai Directive in each month of (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 to date; and from which country did these dogs originate.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Since we left the EU, the EU import data was collated from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Post Import Management System and accounts for all Imports that have been entered using IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system).

The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS by traders.

APHA only holds data on GB imports.

From 14 April 2022 Great Britain temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets if they originated from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.

Please find data below.

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

May

June

Austria

14

4

Belgium

19

7

8

8

8

5

Bulgaria

35

65

113

74

116

131

Croatia

27

125

118

207

196

Cyprus

143

485

323

384

205

415

Czechia

14

14

19

17

20

Denmark

12

1

184

England

1

6

4

6

7

Estonia

16

5

Finland

1

2

1

France

6

58

40

48

17

111

Germany

2

4

4

11

17

Greece

13

31

24

116

164

79

Hungary

35

234

865

621

582

358

Iceland

1

Italy

4

29

35

26

9

33

Latvia

36

25

66

61

45

Lithuania

28

35

75

62

32

28

Luxembourg

Malta

1

Netherlands

9

4

2

5

6

3

Northern Ireland

2

Norway

1

Poland

131

318

564

587

688

566

Portugal

1

34

69

59

43

78

Republic of Ireland

96

529

717

560

654

640

Romania

558

3609

4220

4788

3696

3199

Scotland

1

Slovakia

5

32

39

27

17

22

Slovenia

1

3

1

Spain

117

269

637

702

573

590

Sweden

5

2

1

1

1

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

1

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

1

Grand Total

1201

5832

7937

8305

7125

6724

2021 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Austria

2

1

1

Belgium

7

6

5

3

2

Bulgaria

96

44

157

110

86

66

Croatia

282

223

132

254

246

193

Cyprus

297

396

345

325

165

275

Czechia

22

18

25

22

20

30

Denmark

58

210

43

94

117

England

20

3

8

7

9

1

Estonia

1

1

Finland

1

1

1

1

France

38

26

16

12

32

7

Germany

7

9

8

5

5

4

Greece

110

98

124

110

88

60

Hungary

322

223

402

302

277

296

Iceland

Italy

35

29

35

17

36

8

Latvia

43

28

57

55

69

27

Lithuania

81

71

82

77

55

52

Luxembourg

2

Malta

2

Netherlands

4

34

23

28

16

18

Northern Ireland

Norway

1

1

Poland

480

486

543

492

405

333

Portugal

53

22

42

46

28

25

Republic of Ireland

557

620

651

557

633

444

Romania

3328

2871

3108

3452

2825

2427

Scotland

Slovakia

23

21

32

22

33

18

Slovenia

1

1

Spain

729

316

539

490

539

408

Sweden

2

1

33

1

2

Switzerland

1

2

1

Wales

UK

Isle of Man

(blank)

Grand Total

6538

5610

6548

6463

5667

4816

2022 Numbers of Dogs imported under Balai Directive

Country of Origin

Jan

Feb

Mar

April

1/5/22 to 23/05/22

Austria

3

2

Belgium

10

4

5

2

Bulgaria

79

40

95

115

115

Croatia

145

190

358

248

Cyprus

335

282

275

77

231

Czechia

14

11

10

18

16

Denmark

1

19

67

97

England

1

2

7

3

Estonia

4

7

Finland

1

1

1

France

16

18

16

2

1

Germany

22

21

7

11

3

Greece

54

48

33

29

16

Hungary

164

253

224

226

193

Iceland

Italy

7

44

32

35

22

Latvia

56

32

54

41

8

Lithuania

36

63

52

31

26

Luxembourg

1

Malta

Netherlands

24

17

12

9

Northern Ireland

1

Norway

3

2

Poland

320

339

334

175

42

Portugal

30

36

30

24

39

Republic of Ireland

635

670

632

534

493

Romania

2529

2365

2531

1181

18

Scotland

Slovakia

17

13

12

17

9

Slovenia

Spain

480

529

448

415

344

Sweden

2

3

1

1

Switzerland

1

1

Wales

UK

1

2

Isle of Man

2

(blank)

Grand Total

4983

4999

5236

3304

1589