Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases were recorded of individuals who had entered the UK using the List of Travellers scheme overstaying or absconding in each of the last five years of its operation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not hold this data. The UK is no longer part of the List of Travellers scheme.
The change means all pupils visiting the UK on a school trip need a passport or travel document issued under the refugee conventions and, if required, a visa.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of identity fraud were detected among people entering the UK using the List of Travellers scheme in each of the last five years of its operation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not hold this data. The UK is no longer part of the List of Travellers scheme.
The change means all pupils visiting the UK on a school trip need a passport or travel document issued under the refugee conventions and, if required, a visa.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the involvement of British International Investment and Globeleq in Central Térmica de Temane, whether his Department took steps to support the Mozambique government in negotiating additional access to the renewable power from the Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam for the domestic market.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Government of Mozambique has strong ambition to provide universal access to energy by 2030. The Temane project is central to Mozambique's energy transition. There is a recognition from the Government that for Mozambique to reach that universal target by 2030, the country would need to consider other sources of energy that are affordable, and not solely rely on the Cahora Bassa dam generated energy, which also has high costs associated with grid densification infrastructure. That is why the Government has made some progress in the last year with other energy projects, including the Temane Project, and expanding the off-grid solar renewables projects.
The Temane project is in line with the country's decarbonisation pathway to net zero by 2050. The Temane project's flexible technological operating configuration and the interconnecting transmission line allows for greater penetration of intermittent renewables across Mozambique's grids over time. Temane is technologically capable - from day one - to blend green hydrogen fuel into its fuel mix when that becomes available.
There has been no specific engagement with the Government of Mozambique to support additional access to renewable power from the Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to British International Investment's funding for Globeleq Limited, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Globeleq Limited's projects on the transition to renewable energy in Mozambique.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Globeleq has supported the financing of a number of African power projects, including the ground-breaking Cuamba solar (plus battery) storage project and the Temane gas fired power project, both in Mozambique.
The Temane project is central to Mozambique's energy transition. When operational, the Temane project is expected to meet the electricity needs of 1.5 million Mozambicans and support the creation of 14,000 jobs. It will provide reliable, dispatchable power for baseload, with the ability to transition to a 'peaking role' as more renewables become available.
The project's flexible technological operating configuration and the interconnecting transmission line allows for greater penetration of intermittent renewables across Mozambique's grids over time. This includes the pioneering Cuamba project (cited above), under construction by Globeleq, which is one of the first utility scale solar projects in Africa capable of storing energy, paving the way for wider uptake of renewable power. In addition, Temane is technologically capable - from day one - to blend green hydrogen fuel into its fuel mix when that becomes available.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the involvement of British International Investment and Globeleq in Central Térmica de Temane (CTT), what assessment he has made of the price the Mozambique state utility company EDM will pay for power from CTT.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Temane gas project is a project developed and invested in by Globeleq, an experienced developer of power projects across Africa, of which British International Investment is the majority shareholder.
Prior to investing in Temane, Globeleq undertook due diligence and an evaluation of the commercial terms negotiated and agreed with the state-owned company 'Source Energia and Electricidade de Moçambique' (EDM). The power purchase agreement signed between the project company and EDM is commercially confidential.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will list the projects in Mozambique UK Export Finance (a) is considering for support or (b) has been asked to consider for support in the future, broken down by (i) location and (ii) aims.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is not currently considering support for any transactions in Mozambique. UKEF currently operates a restricted cover position with regard to Mozambique which would impact its consideration of any new transactions. Details can be found online at: www.gov.uk/guidance/country-cover-policy-and-indicators.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, How much her Department has spent on the enforcement of the [Dangerous Dogs Act 1991] in the last year.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The police and local authorities are responsible for enforcing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Defra has, therefore, not incurred any enforcement costs in the last year.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the (a) costs to local authorities of maintaining kennels, (b) legal costs of listing a dog on the Index of Exempted Dogs, (c) cost of enforcement by police authorities and (d) other costs of enforcing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in the last year.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not hold this information. Any information on the costs of kennelling and enforcement associated with dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 will be kept by individual local authorities and police forces.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for dogs to be listed on the Index of Exempted Dogs there were in the last year; and how many of those were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Applications to be listed on the Index of Exempted Dogs (“the Index”) are governed by the Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015. The person in charge of a prohibited dog may only apply for the dog to be listed on the Index if the court has granted a contingent destruction order under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in relation to a prohibited dog. The person in charge of the dog must fulfil a number of conditions for the dog to be listed on the Index, including ensuring that the dog is neutered, microchipped and that they have a policy of third-party insurance in respect of the dog that is to be exempted. Defra will list the dog on the Index and issue the applicant with a Certificate of Exemption following receipt of a completed application form, evidence showing that the conditions have been met and payment of the fee within the specified period. In 2021, 129 applications were processed successfully and 17 applications were not successful.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to reopen a consultation on its text and data mining exemption proposals.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government’s proposal on text and data mining supports its ambition for the UK to be a world leader in artificial intelligence research and innovation. However, the Government recognises the concerns of affected sectors including the creative industries, and the importance of making sure the balance is right. The Government will soon launch a period of stakeholder engagement to consider the best way to implement the policy.