Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that an adequate number of medical devices are available on the UK market.
Answered by Will Quince
The response to the future medical device regulations consultation, published in June 2022, outlined changes supporting innovation in United Kingdom’s life sciences and access to medical devices.
The Government is fully committed to protecting the continuity of supply of medical devices and providing sufficient time for industry to transition to any new requirements.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed that devices “Conformité Européene” marked under the most recent European Union regulations can continue to be placed on the Great Britain market for up to five years from July 2024, when the new UK regime is planned to take effect.
MHRA is developing a world-leading regulatory framework for the UK that will ensure the ongoing availability of adequate numbers of medical devices.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of supply chain disruption on the supply of medical devices to the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
We continue to see the impact of global events on supply chains and are aware of increased pressures on global manufacturing capacity. In response, the Department works closely with the Devolved Administrations, NHS England, NHS Supply Chain and suppliers to maintain continuity of supply across a broad range of products to minimise the impact of any potential supply disruptions on patient care.
While supplies have been maintained, responding to some supply chain disruptions has required a switch to alternative products in some instances. The Department proactively monitors supply conditions and engages extensively with industry to identify threats to the supply of medical equipment.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which five UK companies exported the largest value of goods to Australia in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage of goods exported to Australia did they each contribute.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC has a statutory duty of taxpayer confidentiality and cannot comment on the affairs of individual businesses. Consequently, the information requested is not disclosable.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (available via their dedicated website www.uktradeinfo.com).
The type of goods, and their value, exported to Australia are publicly available from this source.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of (a) smuggling, (b) crime and (c) tax evasion at each of the Government's proposed freeports.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.
A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.
Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the potential impact on GDP of each of the Government's proposed new freeports.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.
A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.
Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created at each proposed freeport.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.
A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.
Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what criteria his Department plans to use to measure the success of freeports.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.
A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.
Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January to Question 122084 on Electric Vehicles: Copper, what estimate he has made of how many tonnes of copper will be required for (a) additional cabling, (b) vehicles, (c) turbines and (d) electrical generation components by 2040.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government does not hold information on the amount of copper required by 2040, however it is working closely with industry to ensure robust supply chains to meet its net zero commitments.
In 2022, the Department commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake the UK’s first criticality assessment. 18 minerals – assessed as having the highest supply risk and highest economic importance – were defined as “critical”. Many other minerals, such as copper, have important uses but have not been classed as critical in this context.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when will the Government have a 3D air navigation system in place, in line with other G20 countries, given the UK's departure from European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department is considering all options in relation to the loss of access to the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). The priority remains to identify a system that retains the benefits and functionality that EGNOS provided, while offering benefits across transport and other sectors with critical national infrastructure
To meet this ambition the DfT is funding via the UK Space Agency a project led by Inmarsat, a UK satellite communications company, to use one of its spacecraft to demonstrate the capabilities of a UK Satellite-Based Augmentation System. In addition, the Department is conducting further research to assess requirements following loss of access to EGNOS. The Inmarsat trial and accompanying research will inform the Department’s considerations on next steps for this work.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Colombian counterpart on tackling violence against media professionals in that country.
Answered by David Rutley
Colombia is a UK Human Rights Priority Country and UK ministers and senior officials regularly discuss security issues with the Colombian Government. Most recently, I [Minister Rutley] met with the Colombian Foreign Minister at the UN Security Council on 11 January to discuss tackling the root causes of violence in Colombia. The UK has provided longstanding support through our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme to support at risk-Human Rights Defenders and social leaders, including journalists. We will continue to work closely with organisations such as the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP) and UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in support of human rights and media freedom.