Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled British Army announces new artillery deal with Sweden, published on 16 March 2023, when the 14 Archer artillery system announced in that release will be delivered.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
As announced on 16 March 2023, the UK has agreed a Government-to-Government sale with Sweden for the procurement of Archer artillery systems following the Granting in Kind of AS90 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It is intended that the first 14 Archer will have ownership transferred from Sweden to the British Army this month and will be fully operational by April 2024, forming an interim capability replacement until delivery of the long-term Mobile Fires Platform later this decade.
The contract for the procurement of the Archer platforms, including ammunition, support and training packages will be signed with Sweden shortly. It would be inappropriate to provide further information on in and out of service dates, costs, and future procurement options at this time.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the initial operating capability date is for the Archer artillery system.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
As announced on 16 March 2023, the UK has agreed a Government-to-Government sale with Sweden for the procurement of Archer artillery systems following the Granting in Kind of AS90 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It is intended that the first 14 Archer will have ownership transferred from Sweden to the British Army this month and will be fully operational by April 2024, forming an interim capability replacement until delivery of the long-term Mobile Fires Platform later this decade.
The contract for the procurement of the Archer platforms, including ammunition, support and training packages will be signed with Sweden shortly. It would be inappropriate to provide further information on in and out of service dates, costs, and future procurement options at this time.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on the procurement of 14 Archer heavy artillery systems from Sweden.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The UK has agreed a government-to-government sale with Sweden for the procurement of Archer artillery systems to replace the AS90 platforms Granted in Kind to Ukraine. The contract will be signed shortly, and until that point the value of the Archer programme will not be finalised. Once agreed, the contract will include other elements such as ammunition, support and training packages.
Asked by: Mark Jenkinson (Conservative - Workington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much coking coal has been imported since 2018; and what the value was of the imports by country of origin.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.
The quantity and value of coking coal imported by country of origin from 2018 onwards appears in the table below.
Prior to 2022, the source of data for movements from the EU to the UK was Intrastat, this did not collect information on country of origin. The information on the country of dispatch has been given as an alternative.
Imports of Coking coal '27011210' from EU Member States by Country of Dispatch, 2018-2021 | |||
Year | Country of Dispatch | Statistical Value (£) | Net mass (kg) |
2018 | Ireland | 6,013,523 | 23,926,410 |
2019 | Ireland | 6,549,306 | 26,035,264 |
2020 | Ireland | 7,451,763 | 29,642,038 |
2020 | Poland | 10,279 | 17,354 |
2021 | Ireland | 6,099,655 | 24,252,668 |
2021 | Poland | 13,977 | 27,632 |
|
| 26,138,503 | 103,901,366 |
|
|
|
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Imports of Coking coal '27011210' by Country of Origin, 2018-2022 | |||
Year | Country of Origin | Statistical Value (£) | Net mass (kg) |
2018 | Australia | 141,968,735 | 722,193,000 |
2018 | Japan | 55,241,352 | 176,000,000 |
2018 | Russia | 87,702,370 | 808,461,607 |
2018 | United States | 159,587,927 | 1,000,531,665 |
2019 | Australia | 105,663,842 | 507,541,670 |
2019 | Japan | 12,732,709 | 44,000,000 |
2019 | Russia | 80,538,472 | 783,977,229 |
2019 | United States | 121,656,062 | 827,660,496 |
2020 | Australia | 46,943,870 | 411,294,000 |
2020 | Russia | 51,751,791 | 792,601,202 |
2020 | United States | 91,348,179 | 918,790,529 |
2021 | Australia | 53,099,836 | 463,973,000 |
2021 | Brazil | 18,484,677 | 155,895,000 |
2021 | Russia | 57,298,064 | 557,418,494 |
2021 | United States | 102,420,594 | 796,150,720 |
2022 | Unknown | 10,340,349 | 26,014,912 |
2022 | Australia | 125,256,312 | 381,674,000 |
2022 | Canada | 13,898,412 | 38,500,000 |
2022 | Kazakhstan | 4,852 | 28,640 |
2022 | Russia | 14,639,058 | 80,642,000 |
2022 | Sweden | 17,356,927 | 157,638,000 |
2022 | United States | 303,375,807 | 999,093,710 |
|
| 1,671,310,197 | 10,650,079,874 |
|
|
|
|
| Grand Total | 1,697,448,700 | 10,753,981,240 |
|
|
| Data source: Overseas Trade Statistics |
Note: |
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1. 'Unknown' country of origin has not been disclosed and is left blank on entry to the customs declaration data. | |||
2. Sanctions against imports from Russia began in February 2022 following Russian military action in Ukraine. | |||
3. Prior to 2022, the source of data for movements from the EU to the UK was Intrastat, this did not collect information on country of origin. | |||
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many countries have allocated money for the International Fund for Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
To date, the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Lithuania have provided a combined total of £523 million to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). The UK and IFU partners are actively seeking further donations to increase the size of the Fund.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Scottish Government on its rent cap; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending this policy to other parts of the UK.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The department continues to engage regularly with the Scottish Government.
Whilst we recognise the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year, evidence from countries such as Sweden and Germany, and from cities such as San Francisco, suggests rent controls in the private rented sector have unwelcome consequences.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if will make representations to the Swedish authorities on the potential deportation of Kathleen Poole from that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Consular officials have been supporting the family of Ms Kathleen Poole since 31 January. On 2 February this case was raised during my meeting with the State Secretary to the Minister for EU Affairs, and on the 15 February by His Majesty's Ambassador to Sweden with the Swedish Authorities. Swedish Immigration laws are a matter for the Swedish Government and the FCDO cannot interfere in laws of another country, just as we would not expect them to interfere in ours.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the UK has visa free travel arrangements with for British citizens.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
FCDO, who have responsibility for this information, have said that the information this question is requesting can be found in public domain https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/uk-passport/
We have included the list for ease:
Albania
American Samoa
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bermuda
Bolivia
Caribbean Netherlands
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
Cabo Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French West Indies
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
North Macedonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Réunion
Romania
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Gambia
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turks and Caicos Islands
Türkiye
United States Virgin Islands
Ukraine
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia
Eswatin
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make a comparative assessment of the impact of energy costs on steel companies in (a) the UK, (b) Germany, (c) Italy, (d) France and (e) Sweden.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Ofgem has previously carried out research on what drives comparatively high GB electricity prices for energy intensive industries (EIIs) and have compared them with selected European countries. They published a report in 2021 which can be found here:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/research-gb-electricity-prices-energy-intensive-industries.
The Government has supported the steel sector extensively, including providing over £800m since 2013 to help with the costs of electricity and to support a low carbon transition. The 2022 British Energy Security Strategy announced that the EII Compensation Scheme would be extended for a further 3 years with increased aid intensity, representing a doubling of relief. It also announced that the Government would consider making similar changes to the related EII Exemption Scheme and that we will explore other possible measures to reduce electricity costs for EIIs.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with other NATO members concerning the reasons why (1) Finland, and (2) Sweden, have not yet been granted full membership of NATO; and when they expect full membership for those countries to be achieved.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has engaged regularly with NATO Allies to advance the NATO accession process for Sweden and Finland. Once the Accession Protocols were signed, we expedited our ratification, recognising the importance of bringing both countries quickly into NATO. We continue to encourage all Allies to also ratify swiftly. Rapid integration into NATO will make both countries safer, the Alliance stronger, and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure.