Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings his Department has had with European Union counterparts on the proposed emissions trade system agreement since the announcement of the UK-EU Reset Deal.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I and my department speak to EU counterparts on a regular basis, including on the Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Emissions Trading Systems linking agreements. I will not be providing a running commentary on negotiations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings his Department has had with European Union counterparts on the proposed Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement since the announcement of the UK-EU Reset Deal.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I and my department speak to EU counterparts on a regular basis, including on the Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Emissions Trading Systems linking agreements. I will not be providing a running commentary on negotiations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of negotiating reciprocal exemptions from new electronic travel authorisation schemes with the European Union.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers regularly engage EU counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The EU is developing the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), their pre-travel authorisation system for third-country nationals. This will apply to those who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area. The European Commission has confirmed that ETIAS will apply to British citizens, when it is introduced. The UKs electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme is fully implemented for non-visa national visitors to the UK, this includes EU nationals.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Civil Service (a) internships and (b) graduate recruitment programmes are (i) inclusive and (ii) accessible to candidates from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to building a Civil Service that is representative of all communities across the UK and several graduate and internship programmes exist across the Civil Service. The Civil Service Fast Stream is open to graduates from any background and we consistently monitor recruitment data to ensure we remain an inclusive and accessible employer. For this reason, in August we announced our Summer Internship Programme will open exclusively to undergraduates from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds. The aim of this change is to increase representation in the Fast Stream.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the European Union on the proposed EU Mobility Scheme outlined in the UK-EU Reset Deal.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped as well as time-limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters are subject to discussion. We cannot give a running commentary of ongoing negotiations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has an assessment of the potential impact proposed EU Mobility Scheme on (a) economic growth and (b) attracting talent to the UK workforce.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped as well as time-limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters are subject to discussion. We cannot give a running commentary of ongoing negotiations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a UK-wide Future Generations Commissioner to promote (a) long-term policy planning and (b) intergenerational fairness across Government departments.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
All children should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they’re from, or how much their parents earn. The Opportunity Mission will give the next generation the best start in life, help them achieve and thrive in excellent schools, and build skills for opportunity and growth. The mission has taken a number of steps to help ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed. These include expanding government-funded childcare, allocating £1.4bn to rebuild our schools, launching the curriculum review, announcing the creation of Foundation Apprenticeships and launching the first round of funding for 300 school-based nurseries. The government has also set-up a Ministerial Taskforce on Child Poverty, bringing in academia, local government and other sectors to develop a joint strategy on child poverty. There has been no specific assessment by the Cabinet Office of establishing a UK-wide Future Generations Commissioner.