Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gareth Thomas and Graham Stuart

Tuesday 28th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Earlier this month, the pan-European EVOLVE project found significantly greater potential for marine energy in British waters, which would obviously help us achieve our net zero targets and offer a quicker route to round-the-clock renewable and carbon-free energy. Why are Ministers being so timid about backing that cutting-edge energy technology?

[Graham Stuart]

I take it that the hon. Gentleman is talking about tidal stream. I am delighted to say that we are the world leader in tidal stream, and that in allocation round 4—the last round of our CfD—tidal stream was included for the first time. We have greater deployment than any other country in the world, but I am like the hon. Gentleman: I share his enthusiasm for that technology, and hope to see even more from it in future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gareth Thomas and Graham Stuart

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

I thank my right hon. Friend who, along with colleagues, has been assiduous in championing constituents’ interests and making sure that no infrastructure that imposes a burden on constituents goes in if it is not necessary. I am pleased to say that we have launched the £100 million offshore co-ordination support scheme, which provides funding to ensure a more co-ordinated approach. Although we recognise that we cannot forcibly change some contracts, we can—including with that funding—encourage developers to look at doing their infrastructure in the way that has the least negative impact on her constituents.

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last year, a pay transparency came into law in Colorado. It requires employers to publish the salary range when they advertise for jobs, saving considerable amounts of time, and sometimes costs, for would-be employees. Would such a common-sense rule not be good for British job applicants and employers, too?

Draft Prevention of Trade Diversion (Key Medicines) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Debate between Gareth Thomas and Graham Stuart

Monday 28th September 2020 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Prevention of Trade Diversion (Key Medicines) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

Mr Hollobone, it is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I hope the Committee will prove unanimous in its support for the draft regulations and their objective. The regulations perform a laudable function: they will ensure that pharmaceutical companies in Great Britain can continue to produce and sell certain medicines to developing countries at a low cost to help fight key diseases such as HIV and malaria, without the potential drawback of these medicines being reimported into Great Britain for sale at a price lower than the domestic market price.

Many of the poorest developing countries are in urgent need of access to affordable essential medicines for the treatment of communicable diseases and are heavily dependent on imports of medicines, as local manufacturing is limited. Price segmentation between developing and developed countries is necessary to ensure that the poorest developing countries have access to essential pharmaceutical products at heavily reduced prices, while ensuring that fair market prices in wealthier markets incentivise drug development and investment.

[Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Minister set out for us whether the list of drugs covered by the regulations will be exactly the same as under the current EU regulation?

[Graham Stuart]

I can so confirm. This is a technical statutory instrument and has no policy content as such.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers will produce large volumes of pharmaceutical products at reduced prices for the developing world only if they are assured that these products will not find a way into developed countries’ markets afterwards. The regulations will correct deficiencies in legislation to establish a procedure that identifies the products, countries and diseases covered and prevents the reimport of such products through seizing and disposing, in accordance with national legislation.

[Gareth Thomas]

One small but potentially significant difference between this SI and the EU regulation it supersedes is that, under the EU regulation, drugs sold only in developing countries have to be marked differently to those sold here. That is not in the current draft of the regulations. Why the change?

--- Later in debate ---

[Graham Stuart]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I look forward to responding in due course, when suitably refreshed on that important technical point.

The regulations were laid before the House on 2 September and are made under powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The Committee knows that, given the context, those powers are limited; all that they allow is the correction of technical deficiencies in existing EU law that, by the operation of the Act, were retained in UK law following withdrawal. The draft regulations correct such deficiencies by, for example, replacing references to the European Union, its institutions and legislation with the appropriate UK references. This statutory instrument follows the affirmative procedure because it transfers to the Secretary of State a power that currently sits with the European Commission.

[Gareth Thomas]

I am grateful to the Minister for his answer to the previous question. The reason it is important is that the markings on the drugs for sale to developing countries potentially make it easier for customs authorities to seize those drugs, recognising that they should not be being sold back into a developed country. However, the draft instrument also does not include the requirement for Ministers—as the previous EU regulation did for the European Commission—to publish a report on the export numbers of drugs. Again, why the change?

[Graham Stuart]

Obviously, the references to the EU Commission are no longer relevant, and there is therefore no requirement to notify the Commission as under the previous set-up.

[Gareth Thomas]

My apologies—perhaps I did not make the question clear. It is perfectly reasonable that there is no need to reference the EU Commission, but there is surely a need to report on the number of drugs affected in this way. There is no requirement in the draft instrument, as there is in the EU regulation that it supersedes, for such a report. I simply ask why there is no need, in the Minister’s view, for a report on the number of drugs exported under the draft regulations.

[Graham Stuart]

I thank the hon. Gentleman again. It is worth noting that no drugs have been added to the list under the regulation since 2004. The numbers we are talking about are relatively limited and, as I said, the Commission element is redundant. I am happy to follow up on any need to make sure that the numbers are there and that we remain as transparent in the future as we are today.

The statutory instrument follows the affirmative procedure because it transfers to the Secretary of State a power that currently sits with the European Commission—the power to amend the list of pharmaceutical products covered under the regulations and the criteria for products to remain on that list. The statutory instrument also replaces the requirement that pharmaceutical products, packaging and connected documents should be affixed with an EU logo, with a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations providing for marking, labelling or other identification requirements. I commend the regulations to the Committee.