Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT on pilot flight training courses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pilot training may be exempt from VAT when provided by an eligible body which meets certain conditions (for example, when provided by a government institution or certain regulated organisations), but otherwise will be subject to the standard rate. The Government currently has no plans to remove VAT on pilot flight training courses more broadly. VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to the vast majority of goods and services. While there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to include method of slaughter as an option in his recent consultation on consumer products food labelling.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2021, Defra ran a call for evidence to gather data on the impacts of different types of labelling reform for animal welfare, including considerations around imports, production systems and method of slaughter. We received over 1,600 responses and a summary of these responses is available on GOV.UK.
As recently announced by the Secretary of State, we will soon be launching a consultation on clearer labelling. This will explore options for labels and the animal welfare standards behind them, including the period of life which should be covered by these standards.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
What steps his Department is taking to strengthen national security.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office leads and coordinates the UK’s national security crisis response through the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR), and national security policy through the National Security Council structures. This includes the National Cyber Strategy, National Security and Investment Programme, and the Biological Security Strategy, all of which the department is taking essential steps to deliver.
Key successes in 2023 included publishing the Integrated Review Refresh, passing the National Security Act, launching the Emergency Alerting scheme and delivering the Atlantic Declaration and risk elements of the AI Summit. So far in 2024, we have launched a new Strategic Dialogue on Biological Security with the US and continued to coordinate the response to the conflict in Gaza and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the publication by York Aviation entitled UK Business Survey: Importance of Express Services, published November 2023, what steps his Department is taking to support the growth of the express aviation services sector.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The growing importance of air freight in the UK supports the Government’s ambition to drive economic growth and increase the UK’s global impact through unlocking trading opportunities. The Air Freight sector including express aviation services operate almost exclusively in the private sector. We help express aviation services by working to ensure that our comprehensive Air Services Agreement (ASA) portfolio remains fit for purpose.
The Government has recently published a consultation on 4 December on airport slot allocation system reform. The consultation is open until 8 March 2024 and we welcome views from all stakeholders including air freight operators. We also intend to consult during early 2024 on proposals for the next night flight regime at Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted Airports.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is developing new regulations on night flying.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The current night flight restrictions set by Government at Gatwick, Heathrow, and Stansted Airports expire in October 2025. We intend to consult during early 2024 on proposals for the next night flight regime, following a consultation earlier this year on night-time noise abatement objectives for these airports.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is planning to reform the slot allocation process to support air cargo operators.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government published a consultation on 4 December on airport slot allocation system reform. The consultation includes proposals to make the system more efficient, dynamic and transparent and is designed to balance the interests of both airports and airlines, including air cargo operators. The consultation is open until 8 March 2024 and we welcome views from all stakeholders.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new tax-free shopping incentive for international visitors.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tax-free shopping continues to be available for all non-UK visitors who purchase items in store if they have them sent directly to their overseas address. This also applies to overseas shoppers who buy from British businesses online and have items delivered to their overseas address.
The independent Office of Budget Responsibility published their assessment of the withdrawal of the previous VAT-free shopping schemes in November 2020. At the time, this showed that the withdrawal of VAT-free shopping would raise a significant amount of revenue and have a limited effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in Great Britain.
The government is accepting representations from industry on VAT-free shopping and considering these, alongside broader data.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to protect (a) Bupa, (b) HCA Healthcare and (c) other major private healthcare providers from (i) BGI Group and (ii) MGI Tech.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Organisations which hold sensitive biological data are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, organisations such as Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource actively consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas.
As part of the new UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy, without stifling innovation, and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the United Kingdom and across the world. The Office for Life Sciences has begun this work, in consultation with relevant Departments and Agencies across Government, and key partners such as Genomics England and UK Biobank.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the retail and travel industries on the effect of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping for international visitors on those sectors.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the UK’s economic and finance ministry, HM Treasury has regular discussions with representatives from a wide range of industries including travel and retail as well as business representative organisations covering many sectors.
As announced in the Autumn Statement, the government is continuing to accept representations from industry on the impact of this policy decision and considering this evidence alongside broader data.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the security of DNA data held by (a) the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and (b) private providers of NHS healthcare; and whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential for cyber attacks by foreign state-linked companies.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Organisations which hold sensitive biological data are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation. In addition, organisations such as Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource actively consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas.
As part of the new UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy, without stifling innovation, and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the United Kingdom and across the world. The Office for Life Sciences has begun this work, in consultation with relevant Departments and Agencies across Government, and key partners such as Genomics England and UK Biobank.