Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what powers he has impose financial support for new ferry routes as a condition for companies seeking to operate Freeports.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2213 on 20 November 2023.
Freeports are not operated by individual companies, but are a partnership of key public and private stakeholders coming together to deliver durable economic growth for their regions.
Private sector operators provide services to meet wider passenger or freight demands and so, new ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis.
More information pertaining to Scottish Green Freeports can be found as this link.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department supports foreign investment in science and technology by region.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Investment is at the very heart of the UK economy - it supports economic growth, creates jobs and enables improvements in productivity for new and existing firms. It is also essential for successful delivery of the Government's objective to make the UK a science and technology superpower by 2030.
The Department for Business and Trade promotes a range of investment opportunities across the science & technology sector. DBT works to attract foreign corporates to the UK, developing compelling investment propositions for DBT's international network to bring to prospective investors, this includes both sector-wide and place-based opportunities. DBT has dedicated based staff across the UK who work with the DAs/their agencies, wider DBT teams, Office for Investment and other UK government departments to deliver investment in priority areas, including science and technology. DBT teams work closely with partners to deliver events to attract investment, such as the Northern Ireland Investment Summit that was held in Belfast, September 2023.
The UK has 13 new Investment Zones which will benefit from £160 million each of Government funding to unlock foreign investment across priority sectors, especially science and technology, with a focus on driving innovation and creating quality jobs. These will be new hubs for investment and innovation across the UK and the funding spread over 10 years, will be spent on fiscal incentives and/or flexible spend to support attracting FDI. In line with the government's levelling up objectives, they are established in places with significant unmet productivity potential, where existing strengths and assets aligned to priority sectors can be leveraged to increase opportunities for local communities. Investment Zones will be established in partnership between central government, local government, research institutions and the private sector. The Investment Opportunity Fund is intended to double down on the objectives of Freeports and Investment Zones by providing a flexible, agile pot of funding that government can use to secure and respond to opportunities in these areas as they emerge.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answers of 15 March 2024 to Questions 17337 and 17338 on Freeports: Foreign Investment in UK, when his Department plans to publish the UK Freeports Programme Annual Report 2023; and if he will include the information on foreign direct investment performance (a) at the level and (b) for the dates requested in Questions 17337 and 17338.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Announcements will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Institute for Public Policy Research report State of the North 2024: Charting the Course for a Decade of Renewal, published in March, what steps they are taking to address the widening gap in employment between London and the rest of England.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government has made significant progress in creating jobs across the whole of England, and we are taking further steps to reduce regional disparities in employment. The Living Standards mission in the Levelling Up White Paper commits to increasing pay, employment and productivity in every region of the UK by 2030.
The refocussed Investment Zones programme covers eight places across the North and Midlands, providing more jobs in places and levelling up the economy. Additionally, all eight English Freeports are open for business, unlocking investment into port communities and their hinterlands and bringing jobs to these areas.
Following trailblazer deals agreed with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in March 2023, further trailblazing provisions have been agreed with the North East, enabling local leaders to drive growth in key sectors and tailor local employment support approaches and initiatives that address needs in the area.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many freeports have been announced for each country of the United Kingdom in the past 10 years; and where they are located.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Information on the number of Freeports announced in the United Kingdom in the last ten years and their locations can be found at the following link.
Following discussions with stakeholders in Northern Ireland about how best to deliver the benefits associated with Freeports and Investment Zones there, the government announced at the Spring Budget that we will establish an Enhanced Investment Zone offer in Northern Ireland with £150 million in funding, able to be used flexibly across spending and tax levers.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's Freedom of Information response of 29 January to the Rt Hon Member for Islington South and Finsbury of 29 January 2024 (reference number FOI2023/08394), how many freeports were recorded as having an amount of capital expenditure resulting from verified foreign direct investment of (a) £0, (b) £1 to £500,000, (c) £500,001 to £10,000,000, (d) £10,000,001 to £100,000,000, (e) £100,000,001 to £400,000,000, (f) £400,000,001 to £640,000,000 and (g) more than £640,000,000 between 1 December 2021 and 29 February 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
There is an expectation that FDI performance of UK Freeports will be assessed in the upcoming annual report on the programme that DLUHC will be releasing in Summer. The data used in the FOI remain the most recent in the public domain.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's Freedom of Information response of 29 January 2024 to the Rt Hon Member for Islington South and Finsbury of 29 January (reference number FOI2023/08394), how many freeports were recorded as having a number of jobs created as a result of verified foreign direct investment of (a) zero, (b) 1 to 50, (c) 51 to 150, (d) 151 to 250, (e) 251 to 400, (f) 401 to 710 and (g) more than 710 between 1 December 2021 and 29 February 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
There is an expectation that FDI performance of UK Freeports will be assessed in the upcoming annual report on the programme that DLUHC will be releasing in Summer. The data used in the FOI remain the most recent in the public domain.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding Angus constituency has received from (a) all funding schemes put in place to replace EU structural funding, (b) the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, (c) the Levelling-Up Fund and (d) the Long-Term Plan for Towns in each year since 2016.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There is no single fund that directly replaces EU structural funding. Levelling up funding comprises various measures that include, for example, the Levelling Up Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Long Term Plan for Towns, the Community Renewal Fund, the Community Ownership Fund, and pre-existing programmes such as the City Region and Growth Deals. These come alongside the largest block grant ever for the devolved administration in Scotland which the Chancellor recently confirmed, and other measures such as the Green Freeports and Investment Zones Programme which cover four areas across Scotland.
In general, details of funding support are held at local authority rather than constituency level. The UK remained a member of the European Union until January 2020.
Since then, Angus Council has been awarded nearly £5 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, as well as £26.5 million from the Tay Cities Deal. It has also received nearly £300k from the Community Ownership Fund awarded to a project in Brechin for Davidson Legacy Cottage SCIO, and over £230k awarded via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme including to replace the 3G pitch at Forfar Community Football Trust, for floodlights at Station Park and Market Muir, and for solar panels at Arbroath Football Club. At Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced that Arbroath in Angus will be a Long-Term Plan for Towns location and will receive £20 million of funding.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support economic growth in the South East.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Over £431m has been allocated through the Levelling Up Fund, including £20m in Portsmouth to transform the visitor economy. Nearly £7m has been allocated to Portsmouth through the Future Highstreet Fund to reshape the city centre in a way that drives growth.
The Towns Fund is investing £109m across five towns in the South East to stimulate local economies. Further investments are planned through our Levelling Up Partnerships and Long-Term Plan for Towns.
The Solent and Thames Freeports will create jobs and attract new businesses in high growth sectors and Help to Grow and Growth Hubs are available to businesses.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's online guidance on Freeports, last updated on 6 December 2023, whether (a) HMRC and (b) Border Force is responsible for conducting annual audits of security measures introduced by Freeport operators to mitigate physical, personnel and cyber security risks.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The annual audit which you reference has been superseded by a new approach, where the Freeport governing body will conduct the security audit and then report to the Freeport Security Forum (FSF) led by HMG. The FSF will be chaired by the Home Office and reviewed by experts within relevant departments, including HMT, Home Office and from Law Enforcement authorities. The Annual Freeport Security Audit (AFSA) complements but does not replace the standard UK customs and border security processes that apply to Freeports or similar facilities. Freeport Customs Site Operators are also required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC.
For all English Freeports, the first AFSA is due to take place in the next couple of months. The online guidance on the Freeports webpage will be updated in line with the new process that is being followed in due course.
The report must be agreed and receive sign off by all local strategic security partners. If the FSF is not satisfied with a Freeport’s AFSA, they will work with the Freeport to agree improvement actions to be implemented. A Freeport will not pass annual review until the government is satisfied with the AFSA.