Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the 1940 proposal for the establishment of the Franco–British Union in 2025.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
2024 has been a remarkable year for our bilateral relationship, with many successful joint engagements commemorating 120 years of the Entente Cordiale. These include the joint ceremonial events at Buckingham Palace and the Élysée Palace on 8 April, the Prime Minister and President Macron marking Armistice Day, and the inaugural Entente Littéraire Prize. Minister Doughty celebrated Bastille Day with the French Ambassador and met his counterpart in Paris for the Olympics. The Foreign Secretary also welcomed his counterpart to Carlton Gardens, near the Free French Headquarters established after the proposal for a Franco-British Union. We have no plans to mark this but look forward to further strengthening ties with France in 2025, including through the next bilateral Summit.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the National School of Government was closed, and whether they have any plans to establish an equivalent institution in place of Civil Service Learning and the Government Campus.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National School of Government was closed in 2012 by the previous administration.
We are currently considering what approach to training will best ensure the civil service has the skills needed to support the delivery of the government’s priorities.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report into the proposed subsidy to the Cromarty Firth Port Authority under the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS), published on 12 November, and when they expect to receive a report from the CMA in respect of the proposed FLOWMIS subsidy to Port Talbot.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are considering the recommendations set out in the Competition and Markets Authority report on the Port of Cromarty Firth FLOWMIS grant proposal. We intend to submit a subsidy control assessment for ABP Port Talbot’s proposal soon.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with implementing the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme to enable the development of port infrastructure for the successful bids from Port Talbot and the Port of Cromarty Firth.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are currently finalising grant terms and conditions with Port of Cromarty Firth, following the subsidy control process. We intend to submit a subsidy control assessment for ABP Port Talbot’s proposal soon.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the cost of Crossrail in England justified consequential proportionate funding for Wales while the construction of HS2 in England does not.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HS2 is a heavy rail programme. The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales, so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
The Government remains committed to heavy rail schemes in Wales, by providing funding for both operations, maintenance and infrastructure, and enhancement schemes such as modernising Cardiff Central Station.
Conversely, Crossrail is a local transport project. Since local transport is devolved to the Welsh Government, the Barnett formula is applied in the usual way when the Department for Transport is allocated additional funding for Crossrail.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to undertake an audit of the usefulness and results of the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Venture Capital Trust scheme with regard to (1) their value for public money, sustained investment, employment and innovation, and (2) recommendations about the continuation and development of the schemes.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
An evaluation of the venture capital schemes was undertaken in 2022. These were published on gov.uk 1.
The Government is committed to ensuring early-stage, innovative companies have access to the investment they need to grow and develop. These schemes provide a range of tax reliefs to encourage investment in higher-risk, early-stage companies which face the biggest challenges in accessing growth capital.
The Government legislated on 3 September to extend the UK venture capital tax relief sunset clause, from April 2025 to April 2035.
[1] Evaluation of Venture Capital Schemes - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been allocated from the £3 billion earmarked in the November 2017 Budget for 2018–20 to public bodies in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to assist with the costs of leaving the EU; and, of these provisions, how much will be available for border policing and security in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Bates
My Written Ministerial Statement[1] of 13 March 2018 set out that UK departments have been allocated £1.5bn to prepare for EU Exit and meet their responsibilities across the whole of the UK, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Home Office was allocated £395m, which includes funding to take the steps necessary to prepare the UK border.
Where responsibilities are devolved, this generated Barnett Consequentials for each of the devolved administrations as set out in my Written Ministerial Statement.
[1] https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2018-03-13/HLWS521/
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they plan to allocate should it be necessary to develop a UK equivalent to the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system after Brexit.
Answered by Lord Henley
The UK Space Agency will lead a cross-Government taskforce, working with engineering and space experts in the UK, to rapidly develop plans for a British Global Navigation Satellite System with the aim of launching our own system from the mid-2020s onwards. Value for money will be a key consideration of this taskforce.
In the long term, we believe that such a system could be operated for around the same annual cost as the UK’s current contribution to the EU’s Galileo programme.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on 5 September 2017 (HC Deb, col 55), what progress they have made in achieving a non-visible border between Northern Ireland and Ireland using the most up-to-date technology.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has been clear that there will be no physical infrastructure or related checks and controls at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
As we have always said, the best solution is to solve the Northern Ireland and Ireland border through the deep and special partnership between the UK and EU, recognising the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland.
We have set out our clear commitments on the border as well as put forward two potential customs models. As the European Commission itself acknowledged, solutions to the Northern Ireland border can not be 'based on precedent'.
Asked by: Lord Kinnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish examples of any communications from Government departments to representatives of industries and companies which set conditions of non-disclosure before meetings between those representatives and Her Majesty's Government.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
Many meetings between officials and suppliers regarding commercial matters are discussions relating to a specific contract. In this case, the confidentiality of any information exchanged is governed by clauses within the specific contract.
Where discussions cover topics related to more than one contract and relate to particularly sensitive matters or the exchange of commercially sensitive material those discussions may need the protection of a specific non-disclosure agreement. The Government Legal Department has recently produced a standard form of non-disclosure agreement which is recommended for use by Departments in these situations. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-disclosure-agreements