Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has a target for 80 per cent of the UK's trade to be covered by Free Trade Agreements by the end of 2022.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government has secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU. These partners accounted for 63% (£808bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. This includes agreements with Australia and New Zealand as well as the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which goes beyond continuity.
The Department for International Trade’s comprehensive Free Trade Agreement programme continues at unprecedented pace, with trade negotiations currently live with seven markets – India, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Canada, Mexico, Israel and Greenland.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to increase the proportion of UK trade through free trade agreements.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for £808bn of UK bilateral trade in 2021.
The Department for International Trade can report significant progress this year. We have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand and a Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore. We have completed three rounds of FTA negotiations with India and one round with Canada. We have completed a Call for Input on an enhanced FTA with Israel, and launched FTA negotiations with Mexico, Switzerland and Greenland. We are preparing to launch FTA negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.
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.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2022 to Question 276, what specific activities have been undertaken in each category within that Answer; and if she will provide a breakdown of how the funds provided to each activity were allocated.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The import controls introduced in January 2021 and January 2022 were vital first steps in ensuring our biosecurity, which remains our priority objective. The activities previously reported were preparatory for the introduction of further import controls. This expenditure set out below allows us to deliver those import controls that will now be introduced as part of a new target operating model to be published this autumn.
Port Health Authority Fund
This funding was for grants to local authorities in England, to provide the funding they require to deliver new sanitary checks on imports of animal products from territories subject to special transitional import arrangements (EEA states, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Switzerland) that were due to be introduced from July 2022. The funding covers three types of costs that will be incurred by local authorities:
The PHA fund received their budgets through the section 31 grant process which is a non-ringfenced grant to local authorities.
Imports policy
This covers Full Time Equivalent Defra staffing costs, which included some contractors.
IPAFFS
This IT development work was conducted by a third-party supplier specialising in software development, to build a replacement Imports system to the European system (TRACES)
Infrastructure
£12.67 million has been spent by Defra on the Sevington BCP includes costs for Construction and Refurbishment.
£15.20 million has been spent by Defra on the Dover SPS BCP, which includes costs for Construction and Refurbishment.
Other Infrastructure costs that were incurred by Defra in FY 21/22 were for Consultancy and Legal Fees (£0.65m*), Fixtures, Fittings and Equipment (£0.3m*) and Defra Staff (£2.17m*) which included, specialist temporary contractor expertise to deliver this complex project.
* Some rounding errors exist
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Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the (a) Trade Agreement and (b) parallel Fisheries Framework Agreement being drafted in respect Greenland include specific reference to the UK’s access to that country's fisheries.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
My officials are engaged in discussions with the Government of Greenland to deliver a Free Trade Agreement and a Fisheries Framework Agreement which meet the UK’s needs and aspirations. We are unable to comment further on the contents of live negotiations.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to increase the proportion of UK trade through free trade agreements.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
We have secured free trade agreements (FTAs) with 70 countries plus the EU, covering trade worth £772 billion in 2020. So far, this year, we have signed an FTA with New Zealand and a Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore, commenced the second round of FTA negotiations with India, launched a consultation for an enhanced FTA with Israel, and launched FTA negotiations with Greenland. We are preparing for FTA negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada and Mexico, which we expect to launch later this year.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she plans to consult UK Fisheries on the interests of the UK far fishing fleet as part of the trade negotiations with Greenland.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom and Greenland have begun negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement, with the aim of securing preferential trade for British businesses and consumers. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will begin negotiations on access to Greenlandic fishing waters in parallel.
Officials have engaged with businesses – including from the British fishing sector – to understand their views on trade with Greenland, and will continue to do so throughout negotiations.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what measures are under consideration to ensure that trade deals with (a) Norway, (b) Iceland and (c) Greenland remain fair and balanced in the event that the UK loses access to fishing opportunities previously guaranteed through pre-existing EU agreements with those countries; and what assessment she has made of the potential for tariffs to be introduced for such trade with those countries.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom signed an interim trade agreement on goods with Norway and Iceland, which provides continuity for our trading arrangements, including for fish. This agreement has been in force since 1st January 2021. There is a shared ambition to build on this interim agreement and deliver a comprehensive free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
We are in dialogue with the Government of Greenland and are working closely to ensure a prosperous future trade relationship, which meets the needs of both sides. Imports from Greenland are subject to the “UK Global Tariff” at present.
Access to fishing waters negotiations are conducted separately and are ongoing too. HM Government is committed to securing a fair deal for the United Kingdom as a whole and to continue to improve the sustainability of fish stocks.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to compensate (1) the crew of, and (2) those employed through the supply chain of the catch from, the Kirkella trawler which has been unable to operate due to not having access to distant fishing waters.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK secured a fisheries treaty with Norway which was signed on 30 September 2020 and approved by Parliament on 2 December 2020. It also secured fisheries memoranda of understanding with Iceland and with Greenland published on 11 November 2020.
The UK is currently conducting a series of negotiations with several of its coastal State partners on fishing opportunities and access arrangements for 2021. The UK's overriding priority in these negotiations is to agree the right deal, which is balanced in the best interests of the entire British fishing industry.
Ahead of the conclusion of those annual negotiations, the UK's distant water fleet already has access to Norwegian waters to fish in the waters around Svalbard, by separate arrangement with the Norwegian authorities. The details of these opportunities were published on 14 January in the Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats covering the period to 31 March 2021.
The Kirkella received its licence from the UK Single Issuing Authority on 13 January. Following internal procedures, she set sail for Svalbard last week, and is already more than half way to her destination.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to secure access for UK fishers to the (1) Barents Sea, (2) Norwegian Economic Zone, and (3) Greenland Economic Zone.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK secured a fisheries treaty with Norway which was signed on 30 September 2020 and approved by Parliament on 2 December 2020. It also secured fisheries memoranda of understanding with Iceland and with Greenland published on 11 November 2020.
The UK is currently conducting a series of negotiations with several of its coastal State partners on fishing opportunities and access arrangements for 2021. The UK's overriding priority in these negotiations is to agree the right deal, which is balanced in the best interests of the entire British fishing industry.
Ahead of the conclusion of those annual negotiations, the UK's distant water fleet already has access to Norwegian waters to fish in the waters around Svalbard, by separate arrangement with the Norwegian authorities. The details of these opportunities were published on 14 January in the Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats covering the period to 31 March 2021.
The Kirkella received its licence from the UK Single Issuing Authority on 13 January. Following internal procedures, she set sail for Svalbard last week, and is already more than half way to her destination.