Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 5 December (HL2822), whether they have any plans to negotiate a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement which would require the UK to mirror, align with, or otherwise accept EU law in this area.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has been clear that a veterinary / sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. It is also clear that we will not be re-entering the single market or customs union and will not return to freedom of movement. The terms of any SPS agreement with the EU are subject to negotiation.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 2 December (HL2820), whether the Government plans to set out its objectives for the reset negotiation in more detail as was done in February 2020 with the publication of The Future Relationship with the EU, and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government's priority is to reset the relationship with our European friends, including through a broad-based security pact and tackling barriers to trade.
On 2 October, the Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission met and released a joint statement on enhancing strategic cooperation.
The Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations is taking forward this work with his counterpart, Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, and we will hold a UK-EU Summit next year to review progress. We are committed to being as open and transparent as possible with Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are negotiating on a draft text for a security partnership agreement with the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 14 October the Foreign Secretary attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council and agreed with the then High Representative, Borrell, to advance work towards a security partnership. They also agreed that the UK and EU will establish a biannual Foreign Policy Dialogue between the UK Foreign Secretary and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs to enable strategic cooperation on the highest priority issues, with the first meeting in early 2025. In addition, they also agreed to a number of regular UK-EU strategic consultations to sit underneath this on Russia/Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, the Western Balkans and Hybrid threats. We are exploring with the EEAS how we progress this work.
This follows the Prime Minister’s meeting with Commission President von der Leyen on 2 October where the leaders agreed on the importance of the unique relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom and resolved to strengthen ambitiously our structured strategic cooperation on shared global challenges.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their negotiating objectives for their proposed sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to resetting relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. As part of this reset, we believe the trading relationship can be improved. The UK and the EU are each other's largest agri-food markets; in 2023, 57% (£14 billion) of UK agri-food exports were to EU countries, and 72% (£43.8 billion) of UK agri-food imports were from EU countries. We have said we will seek to negotiate a veterinary/ sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement to boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers on both sides.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are negotiating on a draft text of any kind relating to their proposed sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is not currently negotiating draft text relating to an SPS agreement with the EU.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their objectives in their proposed "reset" of relations with the European Union; what issues they are discussing with the European Union as part of that proposed reset; and when they expect those discussions to conclude.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has already begun working to reset the relationship with our European friends and to put the UK’s relationship with the EU on a more solid, stable footing. The Prime Minister met with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on 2 October and they agreed to strengthen the UK-EU relationship in areas including the economy, energy, resilience and security; and to hold the first UK-EU Summit in early 2025. The Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations is taking forward this work with his counterpart in the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, who was confirmed on 27 November.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding has been provided to the Green Finance Institute in each of the past five fiscal years; and whether any of the directors of the company are appointed by the Government.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Green Finance Institute was launched in 2019 to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy. They are an independent private company that partner with financial organisations, corporates, NGOs, policymakers, academics and civil society experts. Their output supports several Government priorities across climate change, nature, international development, and economic growth.
Government has provided the following funding to the Green Finance Institute for a range of specific outputs to support Government policy making. Between 2019-2022 the Government provided a grant to support the establishment of the Green Finance Institute.
FY 2019-2020: £650,000
FY 2020-2021: £650,000
FY 2021-2022: £890,000 of which £650,000 was the core grant, and £240,000 was for specific projects
Since 2022 the Government has provided a grant to support specific projects through the Green Finance Institute.
FY 2022-2023: £1,565,500
FY 2023-2024: £1,460,467
TOTAL FY 2019-2024: £5,215,967
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provide funding directly to a separate entity, called the GFI PMO Ltd, which was set up to host the Secretariat for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. To date, this funding amounts to:
FY 2021-22: £801,855
FY 2022-23: £1,155,000
FY 2023-24: £910,000
No directors of the Green Finance Institute Ltd (previously known as the Green Finance Initiative Ltd) or the GFI PMO have been appointed by the Government.