Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to Government policy on visas for employment in the fishing industry on the cost of fish.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s longstanding position has been that foreign nationals need permission to work in UK waters and that transit visas have never been an appropriate visa to use to work in the UK. There has been no change in our position with this regard. The Government recognises there will be adjustment required for the industry to become compliant with the immigration system and has offered a generous visa support package to the sector. We are working closely with the fishing industry and Seafish to monitor labour shortages and their impact on the cost of fish.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the quantity of exported food that has been wasted due to delays in inspections at UK borders in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 May 2023 to PQ 183339.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what proportion of her Department's budget was spent on food for the police force in each of the last five years; and what proportion of food supplied to the police force was produced by UK farmers in each of those years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold information relating to the proportion of budgets spent on food for police forces and what proportion of the food supplied was produced by UK farmers.
Decisions on how to use funding and resources are an operational matter for Chief Constables. Police and Crime Commissioners are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience,
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the quantity of food that has spoiled while awaiting export checks at UK borders that were introduced as a result of the UK's departure from the EU since those checks were introduced.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no export checks implemented at the UK border for food as a result of EU exit, and so no assessment has been made.
However, products are now subject to checks at the EU border which are the responsibility of the EU authorities. We do not have an assessment of the number of products detained, but Defra has functions in place to support UK exporters if their consignments are detained at the EU border in order to facilitate this trade and minimise disruption.
The APHA Centre for International Trade has a dedicated Exports Team who are available to support GB stakeholders and provide advice and support where it is required. We have systems in place so that any detained consignments are dealt with as a priority. In respect of any complex exports queries or detainments, we will liaise with Veterinary and Defra Policy colleagues to ensure that the appropriate advice and support is given.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship places (a) became available and (b) were filled in the fishing industry in each year of the last 10 years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department does not hold or publish data on the number of apprenticeship places that become available in specific industries each year. However, the number of starts and achievements on apprenticeships within the ‘fishing and aquaculture’ industry in England are published.
Starts figures are available from the 2012/13 academic year here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/69bfd6b1-e5cf-4c81-4465-08db462637b9. Achievement data is available from the 2018/19 academic year here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ec714288-32ea-4047-4466-08db462637b9. The most recent data relates to the 2020/21 academic year. These figures are small and have been suppressed for disclosure control (using c) when less than five.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much of his Department's budget was spent on food in prisons in each of the last five years; and what proportion of the food supplied to prisons in each of those years was produced by UK farmers.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The spending information is not collected centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. Prison food budgets are determined locally (by the Governor in public sector prisons, or the Director in privately managed prisons) and kept under review as part of normal budget allocation planning.
While the contract requires our food supplier to provide a monthly country of origin report, it is not possible from this to disaggregate supply from British farming.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of fishermen.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through our UK Seafood Fund, we are investing up to £10 million to support projects that will develop new courses and improve the quality of current courses to attract new entrants and upskill existing workers. In our first funding round, we awarded just over £1 million with nearly half of the funding allocated to Scotland.
In Shetland, we awarded just over £186,000 to the University of Highlands and Islands that will partner with industry and schools to pilot courses aimed at introducing 13 to 16 year-olds to the seafood sector and seafood careers and help 16 to 18 year-olds transition into the seafood industry. The courses will also made available to new adult entrants.
A second funding round, which will provide further funding to improve the quality and accessibility of training facilities is open until 19 May and I would encourage applications. More details can be found here: UK Seafood Fund: Skills and Training Scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last met representatives of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has not met representatives of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO). I last met representatives of the NFFO in Newlyn on 5 April.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will appoint the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates to the Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Members of the UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) were selected following an Expression of Interest (EoI) process in 2021. At the first DAG meeting, members requested greater representation, in particular from Northern Ireland.
The Government therefore reopened the EoI process between August - September 2022 to create a small number of additional places. The Law Society of Scotland and Faculty of Advocates applied at this second stage.
All applications were considered carefully, balancing the need for sectoral and geographic representation of civil society organisations, while also keeping the group small enough for all members to be able to contribute effectively.
The EoI process has now closed, and the membership list has been finalised. However, the Government will keep membership of the DAG under review.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which solid fuel suppliers his Department consulted in the development of the Alternative Fuels Payment scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government regularly engages with consumer groups, industry bodies, and other stakeholders, including fuel suppliers, and is working with them to spread the message to alternative fuel users. For example, fuel distributors have provided their customers with information about this scheme.