Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Sports Ground Safety Authority has responsibility for (a) the safety of pitch-adjacent walls and barriers and (b) other aspects of player and athlete security within stadiums; and whether there are minimum and evidence-based standards in place to protect player safety.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.
Sports pitch perimeter safety is primarily the responsibility of the relevant national governing body of the sport, and the relevant competition/event organisers of the fixture.
It is for individual clubs to carry out risk assessments and put in place mitigations that will improve player safety.
The Sports Grounds Safety Authority has regulatory responsibility to issue licences which permit relevant football grounds to admit spectators, and to oversee local authorities in their duties around related safety certification.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of when the Future of Women's Football review will publish its report; and whether players have had an opportunity to contribute to the work of the review.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
The Review is progressing well, with stakeholder evidence sessions taking place focused on the key themes of the Review. This has included evidence sessions with players from the Women’s Super League and Championship, as well as a session with retired players. These sessions focused on the key challenges and issues affecting a female professional footballer’s career, including wellbeing and safeguarding.
The Review’s report is expected by summer 2023, and the government will respond afterwards.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps with (a) football authorities and (b) the police to help (i) tackle large-scale pitch invasions in stadiums and (ii) protect the workplace safety of professional footballers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
The safety of all players participating in football matches is a priority for the government.
Prior to the start of the 2022/23 football season, the Premier League and English Football League publicised that any fan entering the pitch would be banned by the club they support for a minimum period of one year. These bans could also be extended to accompanying parents or guardians of children who take part in these activities. These measures are in addition to the existing Football Banning Order regime which can be imposed by a court for a football-related offence, including entering the pitch.
The government will continue to work with the police and football authorities to review all forms of fan disorder at football matches.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether player (a) wellbeing and (b) safeguarding are being considered as part of the Future of Women's Football review.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
The Review is progressing well, with stakeholder evidence sessions taking place focused on the key themes of the Review. This has included evidence sessions with players from the Women’s Super League and Championship, as well as a session with retired players. These sessions focused on the key challenges and issues affecting a female professional footballer’s career, including wellbeing and safeguarding.
The Review’s report is expected by summer 2023, and the government will respond afterwards.
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 - Shadow Minister (Veterans)
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.