Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the minimum income floor for Universal Credit for (a) farmers and (b) other people whose income and expenditure varies during the year.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department does not intend to assess the potential merits of adjusting the Minimum Income Floor (MIF). Relaxing or removing the MIF risks trapping customers indefinitely in very low-earning self-employment and dependency on the welfare system - a situation that is unfair to the taxpayer, and unhelpful for customers and their families.
We are working with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to ensure a smooth transition from the old legacy benefits to Universal Credit, as well as providing transitional protection when applicable.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) provision and (b) location of further bases for US (i) personnel and (ii) equipment in the UK.
Answered by James Heappey
The US is the UK's principal defence and security partner. UK Ministers and officials speak regularly with US counterparts to ensure coherence and alignment between our two nations, including on the footprint of both the US forces based within the UK, and the UK military presence in the US. Together, we regularly discuss and review our military footprint requirements.
The US military presence in the UK is part of its strategic posture within Europe, providing assurance and deterrence for NATO, and is a visible demonstration of the continuing strength of our bilateral relationship.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on his Department's provision of support for Scottish Ministers on planned overseas visits to promote the Scottish (a) economy and (b) culture.
Answered by Alister Jack
I have had frequent recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on his Department's provision of support for Scottish Ministers on planned overseas visits. I fully agree with the FCDO's current guidance which states that, when ministers from the devolved administrations are holding meetings with ministers from overseas governments (or positions of equivalent seniority e.g. EU Commissioner), a senior UK Government official is expected to attend.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Approved Mileage Allowance Payments in the context of trends in the level of oil prices.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review. In considering changes to the AMAP rate, the Government has to balance the responsible management of public finances, which fund our essential public services with support for individuals.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to bring forward legislation to limit the length of post-termination non-compete clauses in (i) contracts of employment and (ii) limb (b) worker contracts to three months.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
On 10 May the Government announced that it will be introducing a statutory limit on the length of non-compete clauses of 3 months. This formed part of a wider policy paper, ‘Smarter regulation to grow the economy’, which focused on how we can improve regulation across the board to reduce burdens, push down the cost of living and drive economic growth.
Introducing the statutory limit on the length of non-compete clauses of 3 months will require primary legislation and the Government will introduce this legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the potential merits of providing additional financial support for (a) school and (b) higher education students in the context of increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Last month, I met representatives from across the UK where we discussed this very topic. In England, we have put in place a significant amount of support to help students and families alike with the cost of living. This year alone, this government will spend around £37bn on cost of living support.
I take my role of giving children the very best start in life incredibly seriously. This Government spends more than £1 billion annually delivering free school meals to pupils in schools. More than one third of pupils in schools in England now receive a free meal. We have expanded the Holiday Activities and Food programme so that disadvantaged children in England will be offered free healthy meals and enriching activities over the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. This expansion was built on previous programmes, including last summer’s, which supported around 600,000 children across 152 local authorities.
I also recognise the cost-of-living pressures that have impacted students. That is why we have earmarked £276 million of student premium funding this year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. We have continued to increase living costs support each year for English-domiciled students with a 2.3% increase to maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for this academic year, and a 2.8% increase for the 2023/24 academic year.
In addition, we have frozen maximum tuition fees for the current academic year and also for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. We believe that a continued fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring the system remains sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer, and reducing debt levels for students.
As well as keeping tuition fees flat, we have introduced and boosted degree apprenticeships, where, if people want to earn and learn, they can get their degrees paid for by their apprenticeship.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with the EU on lengthening the duration of Schengen Area visas for UK citizens travelling to the EU for longer than 90 days.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK's Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU confirms that both the UK and EU currently provide for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals in accordance with their respective laws.
The UK's offer to EU citizens is the same as our offer to the nationals of all other countries. Similarly, the EU has legislated to grant British citizens the same visa-free travel permissions they offer as standard to all other third countries.
The Government's focus is on the smooth, robust and effective implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full time equivalent staff (a) make up a full compliment of staff at the British Embassy in Japan and (b) occupy a role primarily focussed on business relationships and trade at that Embassy.
Answered by David Rutley
In March 2023 the headcount number of FCDO staff working at the British Embassy Tokyo was 20-29 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) UK-based staff and 70-79 FTE country-based staff. These figures do not take into account staff working at the Embassy employed by the Department of Business and Trade, other government departments and devolved administrations.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full time equivalent staff (a) make up a full compliment of staff at the British Embassy in Germany and (b) occupy a role primarily focussed on business relationships and trade at that Embassy.
Answered by Leo Docherty
In March 2023 the headcount number of FCDO staff working at the British Embassy Berlin was 20-29 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) UK-based staff and 70-79 FTE country-based staff. These figures do not take into account staff working at the Embassy employed by the Department of Business and Trade, other government departments and devolved administrations.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full time equivalent staff (a) make up a full compliment of staff at the British Embassy in Brazil and (b) occupy a role primarily focussed on business relationships and trade at that Embassy.
Answered by Leo Docherty
In March 2023, the headcount number of FCDO staff working at the British Embassy Brasilia was 10-19 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) UK-based staff and 100-119 FTE country-based staff. These figures do not include staff working at the Embassy employed by the Department of Business and Trade, other government departments or devolved administrations.