Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department have taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and the Andean countries.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Last year, my Department for International Trade successfully negotiated and brought into force the United Kingdom-Andean countries trade agreement, covering Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Peru is a founder member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership also, and is supportive of our planned accession.
The United Kingdom recently co-chaired trade dialogues with both Colombia and Peru, in which we agreed to work together to boost trade in key sectors, such as services, digital, clean energy and agri-food. As part of our government-to-government deal with Peru, British businesses are working on a £1.7 billion reconstruction of Peruvian public services, following significant damage caused by the climate cycle El Niño in 2017.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will list the objects of either historical or cultural importance that have been subject to an export ban since 2016.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Details of cultural objects for which a decision on the export licence was deferred are published in the annual report of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.
Reports for the years 2016 -17 and 2017-2018 are available on the website of Arts Council England.
The reports for 2018-19 and 2019-20 will be published shortly.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many objects of cultural or historical significance have been subject to an export ban since 2016.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The number of cultural objects for which a decision on the export licence was deferred are published in the annual report of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. These are available on the website of Arts Council England.
For the years 2016 -17 and 2017-2018, 61 objects were placed under export-deferral.
The figures for 2018-19 and 2019-20 will be published shortly.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department have taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and Canada.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) entered into force on 1 April. It facilitates bilateral trade worth £17.7bn in 2020. On 18 May, the Government launched a public Call for Input on how this deal might be improved for UK businesses and consumers. Later this year negotiations will begin for a new and ambitious trade deal with Canada that goes even further in key areas of mutual interest.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle county line drug gangs in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is determined to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and have a devastating impact on our communities. That is why on 20 January the Government announced a further £40m dedicated investment for 2021/22 to tackle drugs supply and county lines and surge our activity against these ruthless gangs. This investment has allowed us to expand and build upon our successful County Lines Programme, established in November 2019.
Since it was launched, in November 2019, our County Lines Programme has already seen more than 780 lines closed, over 5,100 arrests, £2.9 million in cash and significant quantities of drugs seized, and more than 1,200 vulnerable people safeguarded.
The greatest number of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, and Merseyside Police, yet we recognise county lines is a cross-border issue and are funding the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) to co-ordinate the national law enforcement response and support local forces.
The most recent county lines ‘week of intensification’, which all police forces took part in also resulted in over 1,000 arrests, saw more than 250 weapons seized and over 1,000 individuals safeguarded. Last year forces across the UK also received support from the NCLCC, resulting in over 1100 arrests, 245 individuals safeguarded, and seizures of 154 weapons, £600k cash and significant quantities of drugs.
Between 2019 and 2022, £10.11 million has been invested into the West Yorkshire PCC to develop the West Yorkshire VRU. The VRU has brought together key partners to identify the local drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them. Additionally, West Yorkshire Police have been allocated £8.22m, over three years, to support the police to take targeted action on serious violence. This investment supports West Yorkshire Police to work closely with the Regional Organised Crime Unit to monitor and map organised crime groups and urban street gangs who are involved in County Lines and Drug supply both within West Yorkshire and into other counties.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 537, how the figures provided in that Answer compare to the average per pupil funding for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools throughout West Yorkshire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The schools block funding allocated to schools for the 2021-22 financial year in each West Yorkshire local authority is as follows:
Local Authority | Primary funding per pupil | Secondary funding per pupil |
Bradford | £4,596.16 | £6,042.03 |
Calderdale | £4,593.96 | £5,799.59 |
Kirklees | £4,573.93 | £5,856.52 |
Leeds | £4,548.03 | £5,961.28 |
Wakefield | £4,502.36 | £5,755.73 |
The schools block funding allocated to the Yorkshire and Humber region is £4,567.07 per primary pupil and £5,858.44 per secondary pupil.
Further information on school funding statistics can be found at the following link, for which the latest available figures are for the 2020-21 financial year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics/2020-21#dataDownloads-1.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the volume of trade between the UK and Central America.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Last year, my Department successfully negotiated and brought into force the United Kingdom-Central America Association Agreement that maintains preferential trading conditions, providing certainty for businesses. Trade between the United Kingdom and countries party to this Agreement was worth £1.3bn in 2020.
My Department continues to work with our Central American partners to resolve market access barriers on issues such as procurement. We are sharing best regulatory practice to improve the ease of doing business and identifying opportunities for British businesses looking to enter the Central American markets.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Malian counterpart on the Malian military capturing Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane.
Answered by James Duddridge
I have condemned the coup in Mali and called for the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those detained, including the former President and Prime Minister who remain under house arrest. The UK has made clear that any attempt to impose a change of leadership by force, including through forced resignations, is unacceptable. The British Ambassador to Mali met the former Prime Minister Moctar Ouane after he was released from detention. The UK has not engaged with the leadership in place since the coup. I made clear that the UK stands ready to support ECOWAS efforts to monitor progress towards democratic, constitutional rule within the agreed timeframe, and with full respect for the conditions set out by ECOWAS. The UK's Sahel Envoy has already been speaking to like-minded counterparts to understand how best to coordinate international support. I have also reiterated the importance of renewed commitment to the broader priorities set out by the former transitional government, including efforts to tackle impunity and drive forward progress on the Malian peace process.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a full list of the forms of photographic identification that will be acceptable for Voter ID.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As legislation is brought forward to enable the national roll out of voter identification, appropriate impact assessments, which include information on costs, will be provided for Parliament in the normal way.
The list of approved photographic identification will not be limited to passports and driving licences. A broad range of documents will be accepted, including, for example, various concessionary travel passes, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) cards and photocard parking permits issued as part of the Blue Badge scheme. The full list of accepted photographic identification will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing voter cards to people with no other form of photographic document for identification purposes.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As legislation is brought forward to enable the national roll out of voter identification, appropriate impact assessments, which include information on costs, will be provided for Parliament in the normal way.
The list of approved photographic identification will not be limited to passports and driving licences. A broad range of documents will be accepted, including, for example, various concessionary travel passes, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) cards and photocard parking permits issued as part of the Blue Badge scheme. The full list of accepted photographic identification will be made available in due course.