Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help increase exports to the Netherlands in the last two years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to driving forward export growth and helping UK businesses export to markets across the globe including the Netherlands. UK exports to the Netherlands amounted to £55.3 billion in the 12 months to September 2023, an increase of 0.9% or £0.5 billion in current prices compared to the previous 12 months, making the Netherlands the UK’s 4th largest export market.
The DBT Netherlands team continues to focus on building strategic relations with UK and Dutch businesses, identify and advocate opportunities for UK products to meet Dutch demand, and assist UK companies to make the most of those opportunities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the potential increase in the average price of goods following the redirection of ships around the Cape of Good Hope.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since November, due to Houthi attacks, 12 international shipping companies have been forced to suspend passage through the Red Sed, causing lengthy delays and disruption to global supply chains. This has included causing insurance premiums for Red Sea shipping to increase ten-fold; although, this only contributes a small fraction of total costs passed onto the end-consumer.
These attacks therefore present a risk of increased prices for consumer goods and energy. Be assured that the Government is working closely with shipping operators to mitigate any potential impact on consumers, and the shipping and supply chain sectors are well practiced at putting contingencies in place to continue to meet their customer needs. The government continues to monitor the situation closely.
Freedom of navigation across international shipping lanes in the Red Sea must be protected. These illegal Houthi attacks are putting innocent lives at risk, threatening regional security, and harming the global economy. In all, we have seen more than 25 attacks against ships since the middle of November. This is why the UK and the US, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain, and Australia, carried out targeted strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen. This action was necessary, legal, proportionate and right.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2024 to Question 9726 on Red Sea: Shipping, whether he had discussions with his international counterparts on the potential merits of countries other than (a) the UK and (b) the US taking part in military action in the Red Sea on 12 January 2024.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK and United States' military action on 22 January 2023 against Houthi targets was taken with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.
The Defence Secretary continues to engage counterparts to ensure a robust international response to the Red Sea situation.
On 23 January, the US and UK were joined by 23 countries in issuing another Joint Statement condemning the illegal and reckless Houthis attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways. The Joint Statement noted that the latest US and UK led strikes were in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defence, consistent with the UN Charter. It also highlighted how the thirty-plus attacks that the Houthis have launched against commercial and naval vessels since mid-November constitute a threat to all countries that rely on international maritime shipping. It also underscored that those who supply the Houthis with weapons to conduct these attacks are violating UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and international law.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister during the oral statement on Defending the UK and Allies of 15 January 2024, Official Report, column 577, for what reason only forces from the UK and USA took part in the action in the Red Sea on 11 January 2024.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK and United States' military action on 12 January against Houthi targets was taken with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.
Ten countries, including Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and Republic of Korea, signed a joint statement on the strikes, re-iterating to the Houthis that we will not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in the face of continued threats.
This followed a 3 January joint statement from by the UK, US and ten allies, including Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, calling for the immediate end to the Houthis' illegal activities.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What recent assessment he has made of the financial impact of the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 1 January 2024 on operators of (a) cargo and (b) passenger ships over 5,000 gross tonnage on routes between UK ports and ports in (i) the Netherlands, (ii) Belgium, (iii) France, (iv) Spain, (v) Denmark, (vi) Germany and (vii) other EU member states.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to domestic maritime is currently planned from 2026. Officials across the UK ETS Authority have been regularly engaging across the maritime sector ahead of the next consultation on expansion of the UK ETS to domestic maritime. My officials met with industry bodies as recently as three weeks ago, and will continue to do so both ahead of, and following, the publication of the next consultation on the expansion of the UK ETS.
The EU ETS meanwhile will apply to all cargo and passenger vessels over 5000GT operating within the European Economic Area (EEA) and internationally to the EEA from 1 Jan 2024.
We have no plans to make a full assessment of this EU ETS scheme, it will impact all nations going to the EEA equally. The amount of in-scope emissions that allowances must be surrendered will increase from 40% in 2024, increasing to 70% in 2025, and 100% in 2026. The EU ETS will initially cover carbon dioxide emissions and be widened to include methane and nitrous oxide from 2026.
We will continue to monitor developments of international and regional carbon pricing instruments covering shipping schemes, including the EU ETS proposal, and consider how these might interact with our domestic policy in the future. This will be applied equally to all operators travelling internationally to the EEA. The EU ETS is not expected to have any organizational impact on the MCA.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders were removed from the country through a prison transfer agreement each year since 2010; and if he will list which countries were they removed to.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. Where appropriate, the Government will also seek to permanently remove foreign criminals from the UK via the Early Removal Scheme once they have served the minimum required of their sentence. This is our best performing removal scheme with 5,262 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) having been removed between January 2019 and June 2022.
The Home Office removed 16,676 foreign national offenders since January 2019 to September 2023. Published figures show that FNO returns have increased in the latest 12-month period (ending September 2023) by 19% when compared to previous 12-month period.
Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2023 and we have signed a new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the Philippines. We are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countries
Foreign national offender removals via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010:
Year: | Removals: |
2010 | 46 |
2011 | 33 |
2012 | 41 |
2013 | 44 |
2014 | 34 |
2015 | 57 |
2016 | 99 |
2017 | 107 |
2018 | 111 |
2019 | 136 |
2020 | 81 |
2021 | 73 |
2022 | 50 |
2023 | 33 |
Countries or Territories we have removed foreign national offenders to via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010:
Albania | Denmark | Latvia | Slovakia |
Austria | Ecuador | Lithuania | Slovenia |
Belgium | Estonia | Macedonia | Spain |
Bermuda | France | Malta | Sri Lanka |
Bolivia | Germany | Montenegro | St Helena |
Brazil | Ghana | Netherlands | Sweden |
Bulgaria | Gibraltar | Nigeria | Switzerland |
Canada | Greece | Norway | Turkey |
Cayman | Hungary | Pakistan | Ukraine |
Chile | India | Poland | Vietnam |
Croatia | Ireland | Portugal | Iraq |
Cyprus | Israel | Romania |
|
Czech Republic | Italy | Saudi |
|
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2023 to Question 3925, whether the Government plans to contribute to the International Criminal Court's investigation into events in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of the major funders of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through its Annual Budget and works to ensure that the Court has the resources it needs to operate effectively and sustainably. We make every effort to assist the ICC and other international investigations as appropriate, including leading international efforts to build support for the work of the Court in Ukraine. On 20 March, the then Deputy Prime Minister co-hosted with the Netherlands an International Justice Ministers' Conference, generating over £4 million in voluntary contributions and new offers of practical support for the Court and its independent investigation into the situation in Ukraine. In addition to the UK's funding support of £10.5 million to the ICC's Annual Budget, since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, we have made further contributions totalling £2 million, which will increase the Court's capacity to collect evidence and provide enhanced psychosocial support to witnesses and survivors across their investigations globally. Additionally, the UK provides practical support including witness protection, sentence enforcement and secondments of UK experts. This year we provided additional funding to the Prosecutor's Trust Fund for Advanced Technology and Specialized Capacity, the Trust Fund for Deployed Personnel and the Trust Fund for Victims. Funding earmarked for individual investigations is forbidden under the financial regulations of the Court.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she had discussions with her counterpart in The Netherlands before laying the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023 on the removal of that country from the list of approved countries and territories to qualify applicants for the overseas route to apply for gender recognition certificates.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer back to my previous answer to UIN 5635 on 14th December.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the US, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) the Netherlands and (e) Spain on (i) the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative for Western Sahara and (ii) a political solution to the conflict in that region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials regularly meet and consult with international partners to discuss the issue of Western Sahara, including the US, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, up to and including at Ambassadorial level by His Majesty's Ambassadors to Rabat and Algiers, and at Permanent and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN-level in New York.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much of the funding pledged by the UK at COP26 for the Just Energy Transition in South Africa has been allocated; and what information his Department holds on how much of the total funding pledged at COP26 for the Just Energy Transition in South Africa has been allocated as of 28 November 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Just Energy Partnership (JETP) is a decades long endeavour which has made good progress since its inception in 2021. The original members of the International Partners Group (IPG) have increased their grant offer by 57 per cent since COP26 (from $329 million to $517 million). With the addition of the Netherlands and Denmark to the IPG, grant financing has increased by 116 per cent to $713 million. Approximately 50 per cent of the pledged grant funding has been committed, and 35 per cent is in the planning stages. Total financing from the IPG has expanded to $9.3 billion. $1.3 billion of IPG loans have been signed - with Euro 600 million disbursed.