Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will have discussions with (a) Ofcom and (b) Royal Mail on (i) the maintenance of postcodes and (ii) the extent to which newly designated postcodes are recognised by satellite navigation systems.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government understands the role data plays in delivering benefits in the public and private sectors and the UK has traditionally maintained high quality address data that supports a wide range of uses across the economy.
However, the postcode system is an operational tool, owned and maintained by Royal Mail, with its primary purpose being to ensure the accurate sorting, routing and delivery of customers’ mail. Royal Mail keeps this under review for its purposes.
Postcodes may be used for other purposes including by private and public sector organisations. The terms of access to the Postcode Address File are regulated by Ofcom, the independent regulator. However, other commercial products to identify locations for the purposes of deliveries and directions are also available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 British cheese makers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are supporting dairy producers, including through the Dairy Export Programme which resulted from £1m committed by the Prime Minister to boost UK dairy exports, especially amongst SMEs.
The Programme was agreed following consultations with UK dairy businesses and industry bodies. It is UK-wide and designed to unlock new opportunities for our dairy exports in growth markets around the world.
The Programme builds on existing work the department has been doing with the sector. For example, DBT recently supported a VIP cheese buyer tasting space at Anuga, the world-leading food fair in Cologne.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help British cheese producers maintain levels of exports to Canada.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As of 1 January 2024, U.K. exporters can export cheese to Canada tariff free if they do so through a Canadian importer with a licence for Canada’s “non-EU” World Trade Organisation quota. We continue to work closely with U.K. cheese exporters to monitor the impact of these changes.
We will also work closely with the sector to ensure that U.K. exporters are in a strong position to take advantage of the Canadian dairy quotas that the U.K. will be able to access through CPTPP.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the UK’s trading agreement with Canada on the British cheese industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As of 1 January 2024, U.K. exporters can export cheese to Canada tariff free if they do so through a Canadian importer with a licence for Canada’s “non EU” World Trade Organisation quota.
These changes only came into effect at the start of the year, and it is too early to determine the full impact.
We will continue to work closely with U.K. cheese exporters to monitor the impact of the changes, including what this means for the relationships between Canadian import licence holders and exporters.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many companies exported cheese to Canada in 2023; and what estimate she has made of how many will be able to export to Canada without being subject to full tariffs in 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
In the 12 months leading to and including October 2023, the UK exported 1.9 kilotonnes worth of cheese to Canada. This represented 1.1% of the UK’s global exports of cheese in this period.
The UK remains eligible for the tariff-free ‘non-EU Reserve’ of Canada’s WTO Cheese Tariff Rate Quota of 6.1 kilotonnes.
As of 1 January 2024, UK exporters need to ensure the Canadian importer they are partnering with has the correct import licence. Upon entry into force, UK exporters will also be able to access CPTPP quotas providing for 16.5 KT of cheese exports to Canada a year.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of how many UK cheese exporters will have to pay full tariffs on exports to Canada as a result of changes to the trading agreement.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
In the 12 months leading to and including October 2023, the UK exported 1.9 kilotonnes worth of cheese to Canada. This represented 1.1% of the UK’s global exports of cheese in this period.
The UK remains eligible for the tariff-free ‘non-EU Reserve’ of Canada’s WTO Cheese Tariff Rate Quota of 6.1 kilotonnes.
As of 1 January 2024, UK exporters need to ensure the Canadian importer they are partnering with has the correct import licence. Upon entry into force, UK exporters will also be able to access CPTPP quotas providing for 16.5 KT of cheese exports to Canada a year.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of extending exports to Canada under the Trade Continuity Agreement Cheese Letters beyond 31 December 2023,.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Negotiations with Canada on this issue are ongoing. Maintaining current market access for our dairy sector is a top priority. The UK has longstanding rights to access the Canadian market through our membership at the WTO. We continue to make this clear to the Canadian government at all levels.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the progress of the construction industry in meeting net zero targets.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We are working with the construction sector, to support a range of initiatives to reduce its emission contributions to help meet our net zero target. This includes the Construction Leadership Council’s Construct Zero initiative, which covers the design of buildings, construction processes, decarbonising plant and machinery it uses, and training in relevant skills. The Government has also worked with the industry to produce the Low Carbon Concrete Routemap, a Zero Diesel Routemap for construction sites and to revise the PAS 2080 standard for carbon management in buildings and infrastructure projects.