Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road scheme.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I pay tribute to my Hon. Friend’s active and long-standing support for this important scheme to deliver the North and East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road. Officials in the Department are in close touch with Leicestershire County Council to keep them up to date with progress on this scheme.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses have (a) signed up to and (b) completed the Help to Grow: Management Course; and what proportion of those businesses have an annual turnover of (i) £0 - £499,999, (ii) £500,000 - £999,999, (iii) £1 million - £4,999,999, (iv) £5 million - £10.19 million, (v) £10.20 million - £49.99 million and (vi) £50 million or more.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Data on the Help to Grow: Management scheme will be released in Spring 2023.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses have (a) signed up for and (b) completed the Help to Grow: Management training; and what proportion of those businesses employ (i) five to 19 employees, (ii) 20 to 49 employees, (iii) 50 to 99 employees and (iv) 100 to 249 employees.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Data on the Help to Grow: Management scheme will be released in Spring 2023.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the UK has sold weapons or defensive arms to Serbia in the last three years; and whether the UK plans to sell weapons or defensive arms to Serbia in the next two years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. These reports contain detailed information, including the overall value, the type (e.g. Military, Other), and a summary of the items covered by these licences.
All future export licence applications received will be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. These Criteria are one of the means by which we implement a range of international legal commitments including the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has taken steps to ensure that (a) reviews and (b) interventions made by the Investment Security Unit under the National Security and Investment Act are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Transparency and accountability to Parliament are fundamental parts of effective government. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is therefore considering a Memorandum of Understanding regarding scrutiny of his use of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 with the BEIS Select Committee.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to review the takeover of semiconductor start-up Flusso by Shanghai Sierchi Enterprise Management Partnership.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The acquisition of Flusso was screened and issued with a Final Notification in June 2022 by the then Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng.
As with any transaction, should the company be sold on, that, or any subsequent acquisition, could be called in if the thresholds under the NSI Act are met. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, acquisitions called in for screening that are subsequently cleared by the National Security and Investment Act are not routinely publicised. The Government will not comment further on the detail of the transaction, or any national security assessment made.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2023 to Question 119063 on Serbia: Wagner Group, whether his Department has taken recent steps to assess whether the Wagner Group has opened an office in Belgrade.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We continue to monitor and assess reports of Wagner Group activity in Serbia, drawing on a range of sources and discussions with Serbian counterparts. On 16 January, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied reports that the Wagner Group has a presence in Serbia. The Serbian government has said it will prosecute any Serbian nationals who travel to fight in foreign wars. The UK will continue to raise concerns about Russia's destabilising activity in the region with the Serbian government.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the paramilitary Wagner Group is currently operating in (a) Kosovo and (b) Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We will oppose Russian attempts to destabilise the region. We are aware of unconfirmed media reporting that Wagner Group has been operating in north Kosovo during the recent heightened tensions and are in regular contact with NATO's Kosovo Force who continue to investigate and monitor the situation closely. There are also unconfirmed reports that citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been recruited by groups like Wagner, but we have no evidence that the group is operating on BiH territory.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has received evidence of the Russian Federation offering (a) financial, (b) arms, (c) manpower and (d) other support for Republika Srpska's secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has heightened the risk of instability in the Western Balkans. We will oppose Russian attempts to destabilise the region. The UK condemns any steps towards "de facto secession" by Republika Srpska by Milorad Dodik, who has met Putin on two occasions since February 2022 to seek Russian support. Attempts to undermine the integrity and functioning of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are dangerous and risk conflict. On 11 April 2022, the Government imposed sanctions against those driving secessionist policies in BiH. We will consider targeting others who continue these actions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has received evidence of the Republika Srpska region of Bosnia and Herzegovina providing (a) financial support (b) arms (c) manpower and (d) other equipment for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We have not seen evidence of Republika Srpska (RS) entity offering practical support to Russia in Ukraine. Nonetheless, Milorad Dodik and other politicians in the RS have blocked BiH from implementing sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. Dodik has met Putin on multiple occasions since February 2022 in search of Russian support. The UK has condemned the RS authorities' decision to award Vladimir Putin the RS medal of honour. We have made clear that the award is unjustifiable and risks further isolating those RS politicians involved.