Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs on appropriate delivery of the Single Trade Window.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Treasury has worked closely with HMRC on the design and delivery of the new Single Trade Window and the timetable for its implementation. Further details on the delivery of the service, and its role in supporting trade and the wider economy, is set out in the Border Target Operating Model, published on 5 April 2023.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making it a requirement for businesses selling food for consumption outside of homes, for example restaurants and takeaways, to notify consumers of the country of origin meat products.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food Information to Consumers Regulations apply to all food sold on the UK market, including imported food, and require many foods to declare the origin on the label. For food that is sold out of home, while origin information is not mandatory, it is unlawful to mislead consumers as to the origin of the food or any specific ingredient, and there are no barriers to British meat being labelled as British.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her Department’s policy to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding between food security agencies in her Department and respective UK devolved agencies and the European Food Security Crisis Preparedness and Response Mechanism (EFSCM) Expert Group.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is not the Department’s policy to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding between food security agencies UK devolved agencies (DAs) and the European Food Security Crisis Preparedness and Response Mechanism (EFSCM) Expert Group.
However, recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) was published in December 2021. This report will serve as an evidence base for future policy work.
In terms of engagement on food security we engage widely and frequently with both public and private sectors through various fora.
We engage with DAs through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group and the EFRA Resilience priority meetings. Routine engagement with DAs also takes place through the Food Resilience Industry Forum (FRIF).
Defra continues to engage with international partners in the G20 Agricultural Market Information System and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to facilitate smooth functioning of the global food trade. G7 Agricultural Ministers are committed to cooperating closely and taking concrete actions to safeguard global food security.
Defra closely monitors markets and supplies through the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group and other industry engagement forums to explore the factors that have contributed to ongoing supply chain pressures. As a result of recent fruit and vegetable supply issues, Defra is considering how government and industry can work together to mitigate these in the short and longer term.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she is taking steps with the Scottish Government to help ensure that illicit and unsafe goods from the EU are not able to enter the UK through Cairnryan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government is unequivocal in its commitment for unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods to the whole United Kingdom market. As to goods which do not qualify for unfettered access, anti-avoidance provisions are already in place to deal with businesses moving their goods through Northern Ireland with a view to avoiding UK customs duties or customs formalities. HMRC also has the ability to seize illicit goods, issue assessments and charge penalties where there is evidence of deliberate non-compliance. We will continue to work in partnership with the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations to ensure a coordinated approach to the border.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help reduce tax avoidance.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Since 2010, the Government has introduced over 200 measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance, and in 2021-22 HMRC secured and protected £30.8 billion for public services that would otherwise have gone unpaid.
Last week the Government went further, closing an avoidance loophole within capital gains tax and setting out plans to double the maximum prison sentences for the most egregious tax fraudsters. The Government will also shortly consult on a new criminal offence for promoters of tax avoidance.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed Windsor Framework on the level of impact on businesses of the regulatory compliance required for the movement of (a) agricultural and (b) other goods from (i) Northern Ireland to Great Britain and (ii) Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Windsor Framework removes an extensive range of bureaucracy and checks that the old Protocol otherwise applied for internal UK trade. The green lane will mean that goods being sold in Northern Ireland will be freed of unnecessary paperwork, checks and duties, using only ordinary commercial information rather than customs processes or complex certification requirements for agrifood. In contrast, trade moving into the EU will be subject to normal third country processes and requirements. We have also secured full unfettered access for Northern Irish firms to the whole UK market. This provides a fundamental change to smooth the flow of internal UK trade.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department will publish an economic impact assessment of the proposed Windsor Framework, broken down by the impact on each UK nation.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Windsor Framework was presented to Parliament on 27 February. The UK will take forward implementing measures as necessary, providing the basis for these new arrangements to enter into force, which will be accompanied by supporting documents in the usual way.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to publish an economic impact assessment of the Windsor Framework before a Parliamentary vote on this issue.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Windsor Framework was presented to Parliament on 27 February. The UK will take forward implementing measures as necessary, providing the basis for these new arrangements to enter into force, which will be accompanied by supporting documents in the usual way.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) nephrops, (b) salmon and (c) other seafood will be among the goods for which there will be free-flowing trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain under the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Windsor Framework removes any requirement to provide export declarations, or any equivalent information, for businesses moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. This assures unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the UK market on a permanent basis.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will publish specific documents for each nation of Great Britain on the potential impact of the proposed Windsor Framework on devolved responsibilities.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Windsor Framework was presented to Parliament on 27 February. The UK will take forward implementing measures as necessary, providing the basis for these new arrangements to enter into force, which will be accompanied by supporting documents in the usual way.