Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department has taken with the (a) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and (b) the oil and gas sector on supporting that sector to recover from the effects of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
My Department works closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on a range of issues in support of the oil and gas sector in Scotland.
Government continue to engage extensively with business across all sectors including oil and gas and are aware of the significant challenges faced by the oil and gas industry and many other sectors during this pandemic. In recognition of those challenges, Government has announced an unprecedented package of support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency.
My Department and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have regular contact with OGUK and the oil and gas industry to understand current challenges and continue to work with them to consider what further support UK Government can provide.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Secretary of State for Justice, what procedures are in place for tagging offenders by police services in England and Wales during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The MOJ has no procedures in place for offenders to be tagged by police services during the covid-19 outbreak. The tagging of offenders released from custody as a requirement of a licence or subject to court imposed electronic monitoring is carried out by the Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) not by police services during the covid-19 outbreak or otherwise. EMS is continuing to fulfil all the tagging requirements that it is responsible for and its staff have been designated key workers as their work is essential to the running of the justice system.
Those being released under the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme, which has been established for low-risk offenders within two months of release, as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives, are being fitted with a GPS tag on release and are subject to conditions requiring them to adhere to a curfew and the Government’s Covid-19 measures.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC staff employed in offices undergoing closure as part of departmental restructuring will be entitled to the full 21 months compensation despite delays in those closures.
Answered by Jesse Norman
All exit schemes in Government departments must be launched using the Government’s Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) terms in place at that time. The current CSCS terms are capped at a maximum of 21 months’ pay for those aged under 60 and a maximum of 6 months’ pay for those aged 60 or over.
In September 2017, the Government launched a consultation which proposed changes to the current 2010 CSCS, in line with the HM Treasury framework for exit schemes across the public sector. The Cabinet Office has recently confirmed an extension to the 2010 terms until 31 March 2020 which guarantees those terms for anyone who signs up to an exit package by that date.
HMRC continue to work closely with the Cabinet Office on the progress of the consultation and will continue to do so in order to seek to provide clarity for those people affected by HMRC’s transformation programme. The progress of the consultation is reviewed regularly and at this time, it is not known what the changes may be, or if and when they will be introduced.
For HMRC, exits are always a last resort and HMRC are committed to looking for redeployment opportunities and supporting people to find other roles in the Civil Service. In line with the 2016 Cabinet Office Redundancy Protocols, an exit scheme will only be considered once other options have been exhausted and there is no alternative.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to restructure the counter-terrorism programme.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Following the two recent attacks at Fishmongers’ Hall and HMP Whitemoor, the Government announced a package of funding and legislative changes, including major investment in counter terrorism resources in prisons and probation, which is overseen by the Joint Extremism Unit (JEXU) a joint Home Office and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation (HMPPS) unit.
The package of measures include:
Tougher sentences for the most serious terrorist offenders, which will mean dangerous terrorist offenders who receive extended determinate sentences serve their entire sentence
Doubling the number of Counter-Terrorism specialist probation staff. These specially trained staff will deliver a set of new, intensive national standards for managing terrorists on licence;
These new standards will mean terrorists are subjected to closer monitoring and reporting requirements.
An increase in the resources dedicated to training front-line prison and probation staff and;
The introduction of polygraph testing.
An independent review of our Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
Following the attack on 2 February in Streatham, the government announced emergency legislation to ensure an end to terrorist offenders getting released automatically, having served half of their sentence with no check or review.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make it her Department's policy to protect the Protected Geographical Indicative Status of Scotch Whisky in future trade negotiations.
Answered by Conor Burns
The UK government recognises the economic and cultural importance of Geographical Indications (GIs), including Scotch Whisky, and remains committed to ensuring consistent protection.
Work is on-going with global trading partners to transition EU free trade agreements and other sectoral agreements including obligations on the recognition and protection of GIs. Department for International Trade officials have been working very closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which leads on geographical indications, to ensure that trade negotiations reflect the importance of GIs to the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department will (a) represent the UK at the annual European Fisheries Council in December 2020 and (b) conduct negotiations on behalf of the UK for the 2021 quota allocation.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK left the EU on 31 January and will therefore not participate in the European Fisheries Council in December 2020 as a Member State. The UK will be undertaking future fisheries negotiations, including on fishing opportunities, as an independent coastal State.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on introducing a replacement to the European Maritime and Fisheries Funding after December 2020.
Answered by George Eustice
We made a commitment in our manifesto to maintain funding for fisheries across the UK’s nations throughout the Parliament and to support the regeneration of our coastal communities.
Last year, the Government provided an extra £37 million of domestic funding for the sector, which will be available until 2022. England’s share of this funding is available via the Maritime and Fisheries Fund, which was opened in October 2019. Scotland was allocated £16.7 million, and delivery will be managed by Marine Scotland.
The Fisheries Bill will provide England and the devolved administrations with new domestic grant making powers that will ensure we have sufficient powers to support our future priorities. Fisheries is a devolved matter and, in future, grant schemes will be developed by each of the devolved administrations targeted towards their own national priorities.
We have been evaluating the current EMFF scheme and the needs of the sector. We have conducted social, environmental and economic evaluations to better understand the sector’s needs and where funding should be targeted.
We plan to hold a formal consultation exercise on the design of a future scheme in 2020.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a Fisheries Workers Scheme, alongside the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK Government will introduce a points-based immigration system that works in the interests of the whole of the United Kingdom. As part of this we will consider the needs of specific sectors and industries.
The Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on salary thresholds and how points could be awarded to prospective migrants under a new points-based immigration system. The MAC published its report on 28 January and the Government will consider carefully their findings and recommendations before setting out further detail in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will initiate discussions at the UN Security Council on the implications for global security of the shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 by Iran.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We were deeply saddened by the loss of life on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, and offer our condolences to the families who lost loved ones. We want to see a full, transparent and swift investigation into the tragedy that is in line with international standards. The UK is working closely with Canada, Ukraine and our other international partners affected by this accident to ensure this happens. We do not currently plan to raise this at the United Nations Security Council.
The UK continues to call on all sides to de-escalate and reduce tensions in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to improve transport connections between the North East of Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Answered by George Freeman
The UK Government recognises the social and economic importance of improving connectivity across all parts of the UK. Whilst responsibility for transport infrastructure in Scotland lies with the Scottish Government, where there are areas of cross-border interest, my ministerial colleagues and I remain keen to collaborate with our Scottish counterparts. For example, the Dundee PSO study on Carlisle to Edinburgh line. We always stand ready to work with Members to develop new links.