Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Government of Botswana’s use of AfriForum.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There have not been, nor are there any planned discussions between former President Khama and representatives of the UK Government on these issues. We are aware of the correspondence between the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings and the Government of Botswana regarding former President Khama. These communications form part of the range of direct interactions between the United Nations and a sovereign State, and other States do not tend to intervene in this process. It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the Government of Botswana's choice of legal representation, or its bilateral relationship with the South African institutions referred to. Former President Khama has not sought the assistance of the UK Government.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they will offer to the former President of Botswana, Ian Khama, in response to the treatment he has received from his successor.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There have not been, nor are there any planned discussions between former President Khama and representatives of the UK Government on these issues. We are aware of the correspondence between the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings and the Government of Botswana regarding former President Khama. These communications form part of the range of direct interactions between the United Nations and a sovereign State, and other States do not tend to intervene in this process. It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the Government of Botswana's choice of legal representation, or its bilateral relationship with the South African institutions referred to. Former President Khama has not sought the assistance of the UK Government.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for (1) Her Majesty’s High Commissioner in Pretoria, and (2) the Prime Minister, to meet former President of Botswana Ian Khama to discuss why he was forced to flee to South Africa.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There have not been, nor are there any planned discussions between former President Khama and representatives of the UK Government on these issues. We are aware of the correspondence between the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings and the Government of Botswana regarding former President Khama. These communications form part of the range of direct interactions between the United Nations and a sovereign State, and other States do not tend to intervene in this process. It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the Government of Botswana's choice of legal representation, or its bilateral relationship with the South African institutions referred to. Former President Khama has not sought the assistance of the UK Government.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that neither (1) the winning bid for Chelsea Football Club, nor (2) the process for identifying the winning bidder, involves the use of management consultancy services by Bain & Co.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The sale process continues to be run by Chelsea Football Club and it will be for them to decide the precise terms of a proposed sale. The Government will consider the merits of a licence application on its own terms and we expect any application to set out the proposed approach and specific transactions which need licensing in order to come to a decision.
The Government can only impose conditions on a licence which authorises the sale of the club if they are linked to the sanctions policy.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that more than a million health and care staff will be needed in order to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Department will support the National Health Service to address the impacts of the pandemic by supporting and increasing the workforce. The monthly workforce statistics for January 2022 show that there are more than 1.2 million full time equivalent staff working in the NHS. Since January 2021, there are over 20,700 more professionally qualified clinical staff working in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups, including over 4,200 additional doctors and 12,100 nurses. We are currently on schedule to deliver 50,000 more nurses and provide a sustainable long-term supply in future. We have established a programme to improve retention and support return to practice, invest in and diversify the training pipeline and ethically recruit internationally.
We have offered non-repayable grants of at least £5,000 per academic year to eligible students studying pre-registration programmes in nursing and midwifery and allied health professions. A further £3,000 is available to students with child dependents and those studying specialist subjects. At the end of the 2021 recruitment cycle, there are over 57,000 applications for nursing and midwifery courses – an increase of 21% compared to 2020. Over 30,000 nurses and midwives accepted places to study nursing and midwifery in 2021 and there are currently more than 72,000 people training to be nurses, approximately 9,000 midwifery trainees and 30,000 trainees for the allied health professions.
We have also funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students and opened five new medical schools. In response to the pandemic, the Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical and dental school places for students who had completed A levels in 2020 and 2021. We are also investing in workforce skills, wellbeing and career development to help address the barriers to people taking up work in adult social care and make adult social care a more attractive offer. We have committed at least £500 million to develop and support the adult social care workforce, including training places and initiatives to improve wellbeing.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the change in UK GDP since December 2019; and what assessment they have made of how this compares to (1) the US, (2) France, and (3) Canada, in the same period.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
According to data from the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS), the change in real GDP from the three months to December 2019 to the three months to December 2021 (the latest available quarterly data) was -0.4%. This leaves the UK in the middle of the pack compared to other G7. The below table depicts this using publicly available data in the same period for real GDP in the rest of the G7.
3m to Dec 2021 relative to 3m to Dec 2019 | Real GDP change (%) |
US | 3.2 |
France | 0.9 |
Canada | 0.1 |
Italy | -0.3 |
UK | -0.4 |
Japan | -0.4 |
Germany | -1.1 |
However, the ONS has also advised that it is difficult to compare real GDP during the pandemic, due to differences in measurement of output in health and education. The ONS has noted that estimates of nominal GDP are more comparable. In nominal GDP terms, for the same period the UK is ranked 3rd compared to others in the G7 (see the below table).
3m to Dec 2021 relative to 3m to Dec 2019 | Nominal GDP change (%) |
US | 10.7 |
Canada | 10.7 |
UK | 4.9 |
France | 4.3 |
Germany | 4.3 |
Italy | 0.9 |
Japan | -1.7 |
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK GDP was lower at the end of 2021 than at the end of December 2019.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for measuring UK GDP. In the three months to December 2021 UK real GDP was 0.4% below its level in the three months to December 2019, where the economy was affected by restrictions necessitated by the Omicron wave at the end of the year. The ONS also produce monthly GDP figures, which show that in January 2022 real GDP was 0.8% above the level prior to the pandemic in February 2020.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's total GDP in December 2021 compared to February 2020, relative to the other G7 nations.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Her Majesty’s government regularly looks at UK economic growth in the context of growth in other advanced economies, including those in the G7. The Office for National Statistics publishes UK figures monthly, quarterly, and annually.
There are different metrics by which international GDP growth rates can be compared, varying by the time and reference period used. In the case of our G7 peers, as well as the UK, only Canada produces monthly GDP data. Monthly comparisons are therefore not possible for all members of the G7. International comparisons of economic growth are possible for all G7 members at both quarterly and yearly frequencies. This information is presented below.
Real GDP growth | Monthly | Quarterly | Quarterly | Quarterly | Annually |
Country | February 2020 to November 2021 | Q3 2021 Quarter on Year % growth | Q4 2021 Quarter on Year % growth | Q4 2019 to Q4 2021 | 2021 |
Canada | 0.2% | 4.0% | 3.4% | 0.2% | 4.7% |
France | N/A | 3.5% | 5.4% | 0.9% | 7.0% |
Germany | N/A | 2.9% | 1.4% | -1.5% | 2.8% |
Italy | N/A | 4.0% | 6.4% | -0.5% | 6.4% |
Japan | N/A | 1.2% | 0.7% | -1.9% | 1.7% |
UK | 0.2% | 7.0% | 6.5% | -0.5% | 7.5% |
US | N/A | 4.9% | 5.5% | 3.1% | 5.7% |
Source: Refinitv DataStream, HMT Calculations
Comparing monthly to the latest data available in both countries, November, the ratio of monthly real (seasonally adjusted) GDP between February 2020 and December 2021 was 0.2, in both the UK and Canada. Canada is yet to release December monthly data.
The UK’s 2021 Q3 quarter-on-year growth rate was 7.0%, compared to the US (4.9%), Italy and Canada (both 4%), France (3.5%), Germany (2.9%) and Japan (1.1%).
The ratio of real GDP from Q4 2019 to Q4 2021 in the UK was -0.5%, compared to the US (3.1%), France (0.9%), Canada (0.2%), Italy (-0.5%), Germany (-1.5%) and Japan (-1.9%).
Annually, the UK’s growth rate in 2021 was 7.5%, compared to France (7.0%), Italy (6.4%), the US (5.7%), Canada (4.7%), Germany (2.8%) and Japan (1.7%).
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Sky News on 8 November 2021 that found an increase in the sale of super yachts between 2019 and 2021; and what assessment they have made of the link, if any, between the purchase of such yachts and the payment of furlough money.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
We have not made any such assessment. The objective of the CJRS was to support businesses to preserve employer-employee matches by providing a mechanism to pay the wages of furloughed employees. Through easing the financial burden, the CJRS aimed to support jobs, reduce the risk of permanent business closures, and reduce the risk of large losses in incomes, through wage support to furloughed employees.
The scheme succeeded in supporting 11.7 million jobs across the UK, and the Office for National Statistics has found that of all workers who had ever been furloughed, more than nine in ten were still in work in the three months up to June 2021. As per Government guidance, the employer must have paid the full amount they claimed for their employee’s wages to their employee. They also had to pay the associated employee tax, pension, and National Insurance Contributions to HMRC. If they were not able to do that, the employer had to repay the money to HMRC.
The Government put robust measures in place to control error and fraud in our key pandemic support schemes, such as investing over £100 million in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce at the Spring Budget 2021.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the increase in billionaires resident in the UK by (1) number, and (2) percentage, between (a) 2019–20, and (b) 2020–21; and what assessment have they made of the link, if any, between this increase and the payment of furlough money.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government has made no such assessment. The Office for National Statistics publishes statistics on the wealth of British households where individuals have a tax obligation and report to HMRC: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/totalwealthingreatbritain/april2018tomarch2020
HMRC also publishes statistics on personal incomes: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-incomes-tables-312-to-315a-for-the-tax-year-2018-to-2019
The Wealthy unit, which is part of Customer Compliance in HMRC, does not hold the number of billionaires resident in the UK. Additionally, the 2020-21 income details have been filed in January 2022, and so it is too early to complete a comparison to 2019-20 for 2020-21.