Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on smallholder farmers of the measures in the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership relating to the requirement for signatory countries to ratify the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants 1991.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK’s accession to CPTPP will not change the UK’s existing commitments under the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
The Government does not foresee any impacts on UK small farmers due to the UK’s legal obligations under CPTPP Article 18.7.2 because there will be no changes to the UK’s existing legislative framework in this area.
UPOV provides for plant breeders’ rights, aiming to encourage the development of new varieties of plants, with benefits such as food security and mitigating climate change.
Mechanisms are available within CPTPP to discuss issues raised by signatory countries.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the legality of imports from illegal Israeli settlements.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK’s position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law and undermine the prospect of a two-state solution.
Under the existing UK-Israel trade agreement, goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the agreement between the UK and Israel, nor the agreement between the UK and the Palestinian Authority.
This will not change in the upgraded FTA with Israel. The UK will not compromise on any of our longstanding positions on the Middle East Peace Process throughout this negotiation, including with respect to settlements.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will have discussions with the Leader of the House on allocating time for debate on a substantive motion relating to the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ahead of the conclusion of the statutory 21 sitting day period for which the treaty is laid before Parliament.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is committed to effective scrutiny of its trade agenda and has put in place a comprehensive framework for scrutiny of free trade agreements (FTAs). This includes a commitment to seek to hold a general debate on a new FTA where one is requested by the relevant Select Committee, subject to parliamentary time being available.
The scheduling of parliamentary business is not a matter for the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on the number of people who have undertaken unpaid trial shifts in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Minimum wage legislation prohibits unpaid work trials that are excessive and not part of a genuine recruitment process. An unpaid trial work period lasting a few hours may be reasonable and legal. This is because the main purpose would be to test the individual, and what is done would probably have little or no other value to the employer. However, an unpaid trial lasting more than one day is probably illegal in all but exceptional circumstances.
DBT does not hold information about the number of people who have undertaken unpaid trial shifts in England, Wales and Scotland in each of the last five years.
If someone has undertaken an unpaid work trial and thinks they should have been paid NMW, they can call the ACAS helpline or make a complaint to HMRC.