Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 694 on Russia: Defence Equipment, how many (a) allegations have been received, (b) investigations have taken place and (c) penalties have been issued in relation to UK sanctions against Russia since February 2022.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has been enforcing sanctions against Russia since 2014. Since increased sanctions were announced on 24 February 2022, HMRC has implemented a number of measures which aim to prevent the exportation and importation of restricted goods and respond to breaches of those sanctions.
This includes increased border checks in collaboration with Border Force, trader awareness products and where appropriate the criminal investigation of any breaches, with a view to achieving an enforcement outcome such as a fine or prosecution.
HMRC is conducting multiple ongoing investigations into credible reports of sanctions and export control offences, including controls on the supply of defence equipment to Russia and other countries. These investigations can take a year or more to conclude. The department does not comment on individual investigations.
Since February 2022, HMRC has fined five UK companies through the Compound Settlement scheme for breaches of the UK’s trade sanctions on Russia. Three of these fines have been published in the Notice To Exporters and the other two will be published soon: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/notices-to-exporters#notices-to-exporters-2023.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK-based companies his Department has identified as having exported (a) military and (b) dual use capabilities to Russia in violation of UK sanctions since February 2022.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has prohibited the export to Russia of thousands of products, including military and dual use items. Our trade with Russia is down over 96% on pre-invasion levels.
HMRC enforces customs controls on Strategic Exports and sanctioned goods, including arms exports. The department takes breaches of sanctions very seriously and investigates all credible allegations of sanctions offences within its customs remit.
NTE 2023/17: a compound settlement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Due to the confidentiality element of Compound Settlements, HMRC is unable to disclose details of the types of goods or companies involved.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September to Question 40737 on Ukraine: Military Aid, how much funding is being provided by each Department; and how much of this funding comes from Departmental under spend in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Earlier this year, the UK provided £1bn in additional support to enhance and sustain Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion. This new funding came from contributions from UK government departments and the devolved administrations’ existing budgets.
All ministerial departments contributed capital from their 2022-23 budgets towards military aid for Ukraine. I refer the rt honourable member to the answer given by my predecessor (Simon Clarke MP) on 5th September 2022 to PQ UIN 14298 for the full list.
Most departments committed around 1.5% of their 2022-23 capital budgets.
These contributions will be formally confirmed at Supplementary Estimates, where revised departmental budgets will be published by HM Treasury in the usual way.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September to Question 40737 on Ukraine: Military Aid, how much each Department contributed; and how much of each contribution came from a departmental under spend for this financial year.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Earlier this year, the UK provided £1bn in additional support to enhance and sustain Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion. This new funding came from contributions from UK government departments and the devolved administrations’ existing budgets.
All ministerial departments contributed capital from their 2022-23 budgets towards military aid for Ukraine. I refer the rt honourable member to the answer given by my predecessor (Simon Clarke MP) on 5th September 2022 to PQ UIN 14298 for the full list.
Most departments committed around 1.5% of their 2022-23 capital budgets.
These contributions will be formally confirmed at Supplementary Estimates, where revised departmental budgets will be published by HM Treasury in the usual way.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what debt relief the UK will provide to Ukraine to help ensure economic stability during winter 2022.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 20 July, the UK, as part of the Group of Creditors to Ukraine, announced a debt service suspension for Ukraine from 1 August 2022 to December 2023. This agreement means that Ukraine will face no repayments to these bilateral creditors over this period, which eases liquidity pressures and allows the government to focus its scarce resources on more urgent budgetary needs, thus helping to mitigate the economic impact of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2022 to Question 40737 on Ukraine: Military Aid, if he will provide a breakdown of the amount contributed by each Department listed.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the rt honourable member to the answer given by my predecessor (Simon Clarke MP) on 5th September 2022 to PQ UIN 14298.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2022 to Question 36000 on Ukraine: Military Aid, from which Departments has the additional £1 billion of support to Ukraine been drawn from.
Answered by Simon Clarke
All ministerial departments contributed from their 2022-23 capital budgets towards military aid for Ukraine. See full list below:
Attorney General’s Office; Cabinet Office; Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport; Department for Education; Department for Environment Food, & Rural Affairs; Department for International Trade; Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Department for Transport; Department for Work and Pensions; Department of Health and Social Care; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; HM Treasury; Home Office; and Ministry of Justice;
We also received contributions from the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Territorial Offices (the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Office).
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2022 to Question 23221 on Military Aid: Ukraine, how many meetings of the National Security Council he has personally attended since April 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The National Security Council is a committee of the Cabinet. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings of the National Security Council he has attended since April 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The National Security Council is a committee of the Cabinet. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to take account of inflation when calculating the funds to be provided to the Ministry of Defence for replacing the stockpiles of weapons supplied to Ukraine.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HM Treasury provides departments with settlements on a cash basis, and they are expected to manage the impacts of inflation within these settlements.
Last month, the Government announced an additional £1.3bn funding for military support to Ukraine. This funding was provided for the 2022/23 financial year and reflective of latest cost forecasts.