Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK's (a) progress towards the net zero target and (b) food standards are improved as a result of the UK-Australia trade deal.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK is committed to making progress towards reaching net-zero and the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) recognises our right to regulate to do so. The FTA includes provisions which affirm our commitments under the Paris Agreement and strengthen our cooperation in areas including biodiversity, emissions reduction, and green technologies.
Our FTA with Australia will also remove tariffs on goods which benefit the low-carbon economy, for example tariffs of up to 4% on imports of Lithium will be eliminated on entry into force of the agreement.
The agreement protects the rights and freedom of both countries to regulate to uphold food safety standards. Consumers can be confident in the safety of food imported as imports will still have to meet our existing and future standards under this deal.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in her Department are managing ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.
The Department for International Trade employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK-Australia trade deal will be subject to sufficient Parliamentary scrutiny.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government put in place extensive parliamentary scrutiny arrangements including publishing negotiating objectives, economic scoping assessments and regular statements to Parliament.
Now that the agreement has been signed, there will be opportunity for further scrutiny including time for the relevant Select Committees and the Trade and Agriculture Commission to produce reports on the deal. Parliament can resolve against ratification of the agreement through the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Any legislative changes required to give effect to the agreement will need to be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way before it can be brought into force.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK farmers are not disadvantaged as a result of the UK-Australia trade deal.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Farmers are protected from the tariff elimination in the deal through staged liberalisation, tariff quotas and product specific safeguards for beef and sheep. A general bilateral safeguard mechanism, which applies to all products, will also provide a temporary safety net for industry if they face serious injury, or threat thereof, from increased imports as a result of tariff elimination under the free trade agreement.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to remove trade barriers to imports of medical scrubs.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
To make sure that those working on the frontline can access vital equipment easily, the United Kingdom introduced a temporary zero tariff rate on products deemed critical in the fight against COVID-19 in March.
This relief, which applies retrospectively to goods imported since 30th January 2020, waives the tariff and VAT on these products, including medical scrubs, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies from non-EU countries. A list of goods that the relief can be claimed on can be found on GOV.UK in the ‘COVID-19 Commodity Codes List’.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that child health is prioritised when discussing food standards during negotiations on future trade agreements.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Child Health is an extremely important matter for HM Government.
Our manifesto is clear that we will not compromise on our high food safety standards. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 transfers all existing EU food safety provisions, onto the United Kingdom’s statue book.
Our food standards agencies will continue to make sure that all food imports comply with the United Kingdom’s high safety standards, and that consumers are protected from foods that do not meet our standards.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of Brazil’s proposed new legislation (PL 2633/2020) on the ability of UK supermarkets to trade with Brazil.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
I am aware of the proposed legislation to which the Hon. Lady has drawn attention. It will not, in itself, affect the legal capacity of British companies to trade with Brazil, but I am aware of concerns raised by a number of supermarkets over the environmental implications.
HM Government is concerned about deforestation in the Amazon and is working closely with Brazil to combat illegal deforestation. We have already committed £200m through international climate finance programmes that are aimed at tackling this issue.
Trade does not have to come at the expense of the environment. We are working closely with international partners and British businesses to grow trade in legal, sustainable products.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she last met the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss Official Development Assistance spending.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State for International Trade and the Secretary of State for International Development meet at the Cabinet to discuss a broad range of issues. Officials from the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for International Development (DFID) meet regularly to discuss Official Development Assistance (ODA), and provide updates to Ministers.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to undertake sustainability impact assessments of trade deals agreed after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Conor Burns
As set out in the February 2019 Command Paper, ‘Processes for making trade agreements after the United Kingdom has left the European Union’, at the end of negotiations the Government will publish a full impact assessment of a new free trade agreement alongside the full treaty text.