Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on a new migration system which will allow farmers to employ seasonal workers from other countries.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra Ministers have ongoing discussions with a range of government departments, including the Home Office, about securing the workforce that the farming industry needs for the future.
The Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to better understand the reliance on EU migrant workers across the economy and to consider the UK’s labour market needs.
The Home Office leads on immigration, and we are working with them to ensure that the specific needs of food and farming industry are considered in our future immigration system. We will look to develop a system which works for the whole United Kingdom.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the supply of labour to the agriculture sector.
Answered by George Eustice
We gather industry intelligence and analyse data to ensure that we understand the labour supply and demand in agriculture, and the effect of leaving the EU on this sector.
The Government also commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to assess the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society, including the agriculture sector.
Defra is working closely with the Home Office which leads on immigration as we work towards developing a new immigration system following our departure from the EU.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance UK Border Force is providing to support Operation Delphin at the Port of Cairnryan.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The port of Cairnryan is a domestic UK port. Border Force has no powers to operate in that environment.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been trafficked into the UK through the Port of Cairnryan in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Information is not held centrally on the specific location from which potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are first identified. For Scotland as a whole, the number of potential victims first identified in Scotland and referred to the National Referral Mechanism (the support service provided to potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking) for the last three years are:
Year | Total number of potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking first indentified in Scotland and referred to the National Referral Mechanism |
2016 | 150 |
2015 | 145 |
2014 | 111 |
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate has been made of the quantity of livestock transported through the port of Cairnryan.
Answered by George Eustice
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not hold data on all consignments and quantities of livestock transported through the port of Cairnryan.
APHA only holds data for export consignments where a Journey Log was required that listed Cairnryan as the exit port from Great Britain.
During 2017, 183 Journey Logs have been received by APHA listing Cairnryan as the exit port from Great Britain. 10,128 animals were exported in the 183 export consignments.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many commercial properties have access to superfast broadband services in Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Answered by Matt Hancock
There is an estimated 41,400 premises that have access to superfast broadband services in the constituency of Dumfries and Galloway, representing approximately 80% of the premises in the constituency. We do not have a breakdown between commercial and residential. Approximately 94% of UK premises have superfast broadband thanks to the subsidised programme, funded by UK taxpayers
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many residential properties have access to superfast broadband services in Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Answered by Matt Hancock
There is an estimated 41,400 premises that have access to superfast broadband services in the constituency of Dumfries and Galloway, representing approximately 80% of the premises in the constituency. We do not have a breakdown between commercial and residential. Approximately 94% of UK premises have superfast broadband thanks to the subsidised programme, funded by UK taxpayers
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans are in place to improve access to broadband services in Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The current Phase 1 superfast broadband project covering the 'Rest of Scotland' (excluding the Highlands & Islands) had provided superfast broadband coverage to 500,000 premises by the end of June 2017 and this is scheduled to increase to 572,000 by the end of the contract in December 2018. Superfast coverage for Dumfries and Galloway is expected to reach approximately 82% of premises as a result. Further superfast broadband delivery in Dumfries and Galloway is dependent on the Scottish Government procuring a second broadband contract. The government allocated £20.99 million to support a second contract in February 2014, but the Scottish Government has yet to begin a procurement, and will be the last area in the UK to do so.
For premises not covered by superfast broadband, the UK government will ensure universal broadband coverage of at least 10Mbps.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many properties in Dumfries and Galloway constituency have a broadband service of less than 10mbps.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Departmental modelling suggests that approximately 9,400 premises (just under 18%) in the constituency of Dumfries and Galloway have a broadband speed of less than 10Mbps.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on providing an affordable insurance scheme for businesses affected by flooding.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The British Insurance Broker Association (BIBA) insurance product, launched in December 2016, provides flood insurance for many small businesses that have struggled to access it to-date. We understand that this new product is already providing insurance and has strong support from brokers. BIBA’s ‘Find a Broker Service’ can help business identify local brokers participating in the BIBA scheme and is accessible through BIBA's website, at: https://www.biba.org.uk/find-insurance/results/?insurance=908
The Government continues to work with commercial interests under the Property Level Resilience Roundtable to promote the uptake of measures that make properties resilient to flooding. These are measures that prevent water entering a property and speeding recovery when it does. One objective is to develop better standards and certification, enabling insurers to take greater account of resilience measures in the future.