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, with reference to the Answer of 30 November 2022 to Question 93487, whether any funding from the European Regional Development Fund was available for spending on UK programmes in 2020-2021.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Yes, funding is available up until the end of 2023.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the amount of copper that will (a) be laid in the UK in the next 17 years and (b) need to be laid to meet 2040 electric vehicle targets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government analysis in the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework suggests that the distribution network in Great Britain could require up to 380,000km of additional cabling by 2040 compared to the baseline demand scenario.
The Government is working with Ofgem and industry to ensure the energy system is ready for additional demand from low-carbon technologies, like electric vehicles. A smart and flexible electricity system, including electric vehicle smart charging, could reduce infrastructure needs, saving up to £10billion per year by 2050.
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, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of connectivity between London and Glasgow; and what steps he is taking to help improve that connectivity.
Answered by Richard Holden
Lord Peter Hendy’s independent Union Connectivity Review, published in November 2021, considered transport connectivity across the UK.
We are considering Lord Hendy’s recommendations carefully and will publish our response as soon as is practicable.
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, with reference to your response to the Answer of 22 November 2022 to Question 83567 on European Regional Development Fund: Brexit, what did the UK spend on UK Shared Prosperity Fund in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022; and what was the EU spend on the European Regional Development Fund in (a) 2019, (b) 2018, (c) 2017, (d) 2016 and (e) 2015.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund was launched in April 2022, there was no spend in 2020 or 2021. Funding for 2022/23 is £400 million as set out in section 3.1 of the UKSPF Prospectus.
The annual EU Funding available for each of the UK's European Regional Development Fund Programmes is set out in section 1.6 of the UK Partnership Agreement. The Programmes have the year the Funding becomes available plus a further 3 years in which to spend it.
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, how much European Regional Development Funding has not been received in (a) England and (b) Scotland since the UK left the European Union; and how much of that potential funding was replaced by the Government funding in (a) England and (b) Scotland.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As a result of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, the UK continues to participate in the EU programmes funded through the current 2014-20 Multiannual Financial Framework (MMF) which includes European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Agreement ensures that ERDF funding is available until the end of 2023. England and Scotland continue to receive the same levels of funding under the 2014-20 MMF.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) acts as the successor to the ERDF. At Spending Review 2021, the UK Government announced that funding for the UKSPF will ramp up so that total domestic UK-wide funding will at least match receipts from EU structural funds, on average reaching around £1.5 billion per year by March 2025. This upholds the UK Government's commitment to match EU structural fund receipts for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2022 to Question 55036 on Fuel Oil: Prices, what recent progress he has made on determining how to deliver the £100 one-off support payment in winter 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Households eligible for the Alternative Fuel Payments in Great Britain will receive £100 as a credit on their electricity bill this winter.
For Northern Ireland, the Government is working with electricity suppliers to explore how the payment could be delivered via electricity bills under a similar delivery model.
This is complicated because there is no central register, either in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, of people who do not use the gas grid for their heating
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute in Germany linking export support services to R&D applications to inform the work of her Department and its links with Innovate UK.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The important link between trade and innovation is reflected throughout the UK Innovation Strategy and, under the Export Strategy, the Department for International Trade (DIT) provides business support across sectors and all stages from research to commercialisation, aligning with Innovate UK and other organisations to promote UK solutions and expertise globally. This includes showcasing UK innovations at international fora - including the ‘Innovation in Medical Technologies’ brochure and MedTech company directory launched at the Medica trade fair this month. DIT already works with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute on shared objectives, including collaborating on an Innovate UK Artificial Intelligence mission to Germany.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is her policy for the UK's professional and financial services industries to gain full market access in trade deals with (a) India, (b) Israel and (c) Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
The UK is the second-largest exporter of other business services, which includes professional, and financial services, in the world. To improve the access these important and diverse sectors have to foreign markets HMG seeks ambitious commitments in its free trade agreements to support all elements of the services ecosystem. This includes provisions on market access, regulatory transparency, investment, business travel, recognition of qualifications, regulatory dialogue and data.
HMG has published its objectives for negotiations with India, Israel and CPTPP, which can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to enable the UK's financial and professional services industries gain full access to international markets through international trade agreements being negotiated by her Department.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
The UK is the second-largest exporter of other business services, which includes professional, and financial services, in the world. To improve the access these important and diverse sectors have to foreign markets HMG seeks ambitious commitments in its free trade agreements to support all elements of the services ecosystem. This includes provisions on market access, regulatory transparency, investment, business travel, recognition of qualifications, regulatory dialogue and data.
HMG has published its objectives for negotiations with India, Israel and CPTPP, which can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2022 to Question 60996, whether a letter from the Chief Social Work Officer confirming the identity of an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC), that they are travelling to a receiving local authority and that they need to travel by air would enable them to travel without an application reference card if they are accompanied by a member of staff from the receiving authority.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
A decision on the documentation that an airline would accept on a domestic flight would need to be made by the airline themselves, not the Home Office. It is open to receiving local authorities themselves to arrange the transport and to accompany the child on their journey from/to their care placement.