Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were charged with criminal offences as a result of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland in 2023.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
In 2023, Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigation teams (CFI) charged 39 individuals with criminal offences as part of Operation Gull.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what advertising campaigns directed at local businesses have been undertaken by her Department's trade hub in Northern Ireland since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Engaging with businesses in Northern Ireland (NI) is a key priority for the Department for Business and Trade. The “Made in the UK, Sold to the World” campaign continues to raise awareness of export benefits and the free UK government support available to help businesses grow internationally.
This year, the department’s Northern Ireland team has promoted specific opportunities to NI businesses through the Australia and New Zealand Roadshow and the Food and Drink Export Council’s Peer-to-Peer event in Cookstown. Businesses are encouraged to use the department’s services like the UK Export Academy and provide peer support via our Export Champion programme.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of when data will be placed into the federated data platform for NHS trusts and integrated care systems.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Federated Data Platform will allow the National Health Service to make better use of data to improve outcomes for patients, including reducing waits and discharging people quicker from hospital.
45 organisations who participated in the NHS England pilot, broken down into 42 trusts, two integrated care boards, and the City Healthcare Partnership Community Interest Company, have begun to transition into the Federated Data Platform, in a sequence of waves scheduled between March and May 2024. NHS England aims for all trusts and integrated care boards who wish to use the platform to do so within the next three years.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Operation Zero steering board meetings were there in 2023; and how long each meeting lasted.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2023, the Operation Zero Steering Board met three times, with each meeting lasting two hours.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to publish a report on the impact of Consumer Duty on consumer contact with financial services firms in the 12 months since it's establishment.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has no plans to publish a report on the impact of the Consumer Duty.
The Consumer Duty was introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government and is directly accountable to Parliament for how it carries out its functions. The FCA has committed to monitoring the outcomes experienced by different consumer groups, including those in vulnerable circumstances, to check they are not being disadvantaged as a result of the Duty. It also publishes information about the implementation of the Consumer Duty by firms, including examples of good practice and areas for improvement, on its website: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 introduced a new requirement on the financial services regulators to keep their rules under review, and to publish a statement of policy for how they conduct rule reviews. The FCA’s rule review framework can be found at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/our-rule-review-framework.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on how many occasions the Office for Product Safety and Standards removed unsafe products from sale in 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) publishes details of all formal enforcement actions it has taken on gov.uk, every six months.
In addition, information on specific products that present a risk to health and safety and have been removed from sale is published on the OPSS Product Safety Alerts, Reports and Recalls page on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what comparative assessment she has made of the level of business productivity in (a) 2018 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Productivity is the main driver of long-run economic growth and a key determinant of living standards. We continue to assess ONS inflation adjusted data. Details covering 2018 and 2023 Q3 are detailed below.
Chained volume measure index 2019 | Output per hour worked | Output per worker |
2018 | 99.6 | 99.4 |
2023 Q3 | 103 | 100.9 |
The Government continues to improve access to finance, skills, business support and to address barriers to trade using schemes such as Help to Grow: Management, British Business Bank programmes and the Export Academy.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will hold discussions with the Irish Government on tackling the supply of illegal drugs entering the UK via the sea.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes targeting upstream flow and securing the UK border to restrict drugs entering the UK via sea, land, and air.
The UK Government and its law enforcement partners are leveraging our extensive international networks to maximise cooperation with other governments to tackle drug trafficking upstream.
Border Force works with law enforcement organisations, including the Police Service Northern Ireland, other UK Police services, An Garda Síochána in the Republic of Ireland and the National Crime Agency, to target those who might attempt to smuggle illicit drugs between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, including via the sea.
Our continued work with partners, including the NCA and other law enforcement agencies, is effective in preventing drugs from reaching local communities where they fuel violence and exploitation, causing significant harm to our society.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has held recent discussions with the US government on steps arising from President Biden's statement in April 2023 on the number of US corporations that want to come to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK Government has been continually engaging with the US government since President Biden’s statement in April 2023 regarding investment into Northern Ireland. Last week I was in Washington D.C where I spoke to the US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs. I also attended a roundtable with the Federation of Small Businesses, and spoke to other US investors about the unique opportunity Northern Ireland has to offer.
The UK has signed state-level Memorandums of Understanding with eight US states (Florida, Texas, Washington, Utah, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana) to set out mutual goals and activities to strengthen our economic ties, as well as promote trade and investment, address trade barriers and enhance business networks.
The Northern Ireland Investment Summit, held last September, highlighted Northern Ireland’s innovation and technological strengths to around 200 global investors. Guests included Joe Kennedy III (US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs) and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the USA. The Summit showcased Northern Ireland’s innovation, deep expertise in industries of the future, and unparalleled investment opportunities given its unique trading position.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set a food waste reduction target for the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are fully committed to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 target, which seeks to halve global food waste at consumer and retail levels by 2030. We fund the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to manage the Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste across the supply chain, with a target of a 50% per capita reduction in food waste by 2030 against the UK’s 2007 baseline.
These are ambitious targets, and we are making progress. Between 2007-2021, UK per capita food waste fell by 26kg per person per year, that’s an 18.3% reduction. Through WRAP we continue to support businesses and citizens to take action, with more than £2 million going to our food waste prevention programme this year.