Robert Courts

The cost to taxpayers of delivering the 2016 EU Referendum was £129.1 million. A breakdown of that cost is provided in the report published by the Electoral Commission.

The then Government undertook publicity on EU membership ahead of the referendum. This cost an additional £9.3 million.

The total cost to taxpayers was thus £138.4 million

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade maintains regular dialogue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a wide range of issues relating to agriculture and trade. The government will continue to prioritise trade facilitation in our FTAs to benefit UK exports.

We know how vital businesses are to the UK economy. So we will continue to work hard to support everyone who wants to start and grow their own business. Through our Industrial Strategy we aim to make Britain the best place to start and grow a business.

We want to ensure small business owners have access to the support they need to start, grow and export. The Business Support Helpline, GOV.UK and a network of 38 Growth Hubs across England provide access to information, advice and support business growth. We are developing an Export Strategy to support businesses to access international markets. For Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) looking to export, UK export finance will announce a new guarantee to banks designed to increase the flow of money in the supply chain.

We also want small businesses to have the access to finance they need to grow. So we are helping through the British Business Bank which supports over £4bn of finance to over 65,000 UK SMEs. This includes delivering 54,000 Start-Up Loans worth £400m since 2012. Going forward we plan to unlock over £20bn of investment in innovative and high potential businesses, including establishing a new £2.5bn investment fund within the Bank.

Tackling late payments and ensuring small businesses have access to government contracts are also important issues we are working to address. The Small Business Commissioner will help with payment issues, dispute resolution and sourcing advice across the UK. And we are opening up public procurement to SMEs, with a commitment to one pound in every three of central government spend going to SMEs by 2022.

We have launched a review into what actions could be most effective in improving productivity and growth of SMEs in what has been called the ‘long tail’ of lower productivity firms.

We will carry on focusing on the needs of businesses through the delivery of our Industrial Strategy and as we work to secure the best and most ambitious Brexit deal for the whole of the United Kingdom.

The Government is working with the Construction Leadership Council and its innovation work streams to drive forward innovation across the sector. It is also promoting innovation through its approach to its own construction procurement, set out in last year’s Government Construction Strategy, including requiring digital construction or Building Information Modelling (“BIM”) on all projects, stimulating adoption of digital construction in the sector’s supply chains. On major projects such as Crossrail and HS2, the client is acting as a powerful driver of innovation in construction. The Government has also set aside £1.7 billion of funding to pilot ‘accelerated construction’ to speed up house building on surplus public sector land. This will seek to encourage small and medium builders, new developers and innovative methods of construction in order to build at double the rate of traditional house builders. In addition, at Budget 2016 the Government committed funding to the next three years of the ‘Digital Built Britain’ Programme further to develop digital construction technologies and the UK’s global leadership in them.

We recognise the important heritage value of ex-military aircraft and equipment; however, it is for museums and other organisations to determine acquisitions appropriate for their collections. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport estimates that it has given over £500,000 towards the rescue of ex-military aircraft through the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund has also provided £3.5million in support of ex-military aircraft.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is responsible for the disposal of ex-military aircraft and equipment. The MOD’s gifting policy acknowledges the heritage value of ex-military aircraft and equipment, and permits gifting to DCMS and MOD-sponsored museums.

It is important to note that, according to Great Britain's Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy, avian flu vaccination, barring those in licensed English zoos, is currently not permitted for poultry and captive birds. These steps represent our commitment to maintaining animal and public health.

In response to France's commitments on its autumn 2023 avian flu vaccination programme, my department has formed a task force to explore broader vaccination use as a preventive measure against avian influenza.

This group, consisting of Government and industry experts, will formulate potential domestic strategies, with considerations for trade impact and necessary mitigations to prevent trade barriers, potentially including suspension of import of animals and animal products from France. All proposed changes will be backed by robust risk assessments.

Current avian influenza disease control policy considers the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice, reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control. Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain, published in September 2019. This document is currently under review and is being updated to reflect the recent legislative and policy changes that have already been implemented and an updated version will be published on gov.uk prior to the 2023/2024 high risk season. The Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain is supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales, an updated version of which was published in March 2023.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

There have been four UK-wide exercises involving Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency including their operational partners and stakeholder organisations:

• Exercise Holly (July 2021) tested government’s response to an outbreak of African swine fever.
• Exercise Blackthorn (November 2017 to July 2018) tested the response to a major outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD).
• Exercise Willow (2016) examined the UK’s capacity to respond to a large cross-border outbreak of FMD.
• Exercise Walnut (2013) tested the response to an outbreak of classical swine fever.

We have also completed numerous operational, field and laboratory-based exercises to test and refine contingency plans on a yearly cycle, and our response capability has been tested by real-world outbreaks such as the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Defra funding for financial year 2023-24 is £185.2 million RDEL (Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit) and £15.7 million CDEL (Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit). Indicative funding for 2024-25 has been set but is not yet confirmed and is expected to be agreed by January 2024. Future year funding beyond this is subject to the Government-wide spending review process which will determine the overall funding for Defra and APHA.

The UK is a signatory to over 90 bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The UK is also a party to the plurilateral Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which has 53 other parties including the EU. The ECT and all of the UK’s BITs currently in force include protections against expropriation without compensation.

Great.gov.uk is designed to engage as many businesses as possible, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and to date we have had a highly positive response to our digital services with over 5000 business registered for accounts, including 1500 registrations for our “Find a Buyer” Service and over 360,000 visits to the site.

The Government is supportive of airport growth where it can be delivered within its environmental obligations.

Every development proposal should be judged by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, including environmental impacts and proposed mitigations.

Airport planning applications need to take into account the European Commission Habitats Directive where they could lead to significant impacts on areas of nature conservation, which could include a Habitat Regulations Assessment of the implications of the plans for that site.

Highways England is now responsible for the vast majority of the historic railways estate. This includes legacy bridges, abutments, tunnels, cuttings, viaducts and similar properties associated with closed railway lines, and sales. Network Rail is still responsible for a small proportion of disused railway lines which have been retained due to their close proximity or connection to currently operational railway lines. Network Rail’s records however do not distinguish between disused and operational railway lines, and therefore it is not possible to precisely indicate how much disused network they own.

Network Rail no longer owns the disused Yarnton-Witney-Fairford branch line. The Highways England Historical Railways Estate is now responsible for the historical railways estate.

There have been no specific discussions with the CAA on the implementation of Class E airspace in UK. In accordance with the Air Navigation Directions 2017, the policy on the classification of airspace and its implementation lies with the independent airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.

However, as The Government continues to modernise our airspace, it needs to be mindful of longer term changes that will have an impact on wider airspace management. This includes the increasing need to enable the safe integration, rather than segregation, of all aircraft. This is why, as part of the Aviation Strategy, The Department is working with the CAA to explore a new policy on mandating electronic identification for all users.

The UK’s independent airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is responsible for its own airspace change process. However, the CAA is required to ensure that its airspace change process is consistent with the Government’s Air Navigation Guidance and Air Navigation Directions, as updated in October 2017.

Officials from the Department continue to work closely with the CAA to ensure its compliance with both the Guidance and the Directions.

A written statement to the House of Commons and the House of Lords was made on 19 October 2022 regarding the publication of the report of the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services in East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Dr Caroline Johnson MP, also made an oral statement to the House on 20 October 2022.

The Department has established an independent working group, chaired by the Royal College of Midwifery and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which will help guide the maternity transformation programme to take forward the next steps from the reports into maternity services at East Kent and Shrewsbury and Telford.

Together with the NHS, the Department will consider actions from both reports to form a coherent national delivery plan for maternity services.

Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of all medicines on the market in the United Kingdom and seeks independent expert advice from the CHM on important new safety issues.

The Yellow Card Scheme collects information relating to suspected adverse drug reactions, which include both serious and non-serious effects which a doctor or patient suspects may have been due to a medicine. The MHRA has received a total of 593 suspected spontaneous ADR reports in association with citalopram between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017. This number includes reports received directly from healthcare professionals, patients and indirectly through pharmaceutical companies which have a legal obligation to report suspected ADRs. The number of reports received directly from the National Health Service cannot be determined.

The MHRA does not hold information on deterioration of health. Each ADR report contains information on an ADR at a specific point in time, rather than a deterioration of health over a period of time, and should therefore not be interpreted as a report of a deterioration of a patient's health.

The inclusion of a particular ADR in a report does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the drug, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have, or it had a close temporal relationship to the administration of the suspect drug. The fact that symptoms occur after a treatment does not necessarily mean that they have been caused by the drug itself, as underlying illnesses and other conditions may be responsible.

Citalopram is an antidepressant belonging to the class of medicines known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Citalopram is an effective medicine for the treatment of depression. Information about possible side-effects associated with treatment are provided in the product information which is available to all prescribers and patients. Data is evaluated as it emerges and where necessary regulatory action is taken and communicated to healthcare professionals and the information for patients is updated.

Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of all medicines on the market in the United Kingdom and seeks independent expert advice from the CHM on important new safety issues.

The Yellow Card Scheme collects information relating to suspected adverse drug reactions, which include both serious and non-serious effects which a doctor or patient suspects may have been due to a medicine. The MHRA has received a total of 593 suspected spontaneous ADR reports in association with citalopram between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017. This number includes reports received directly from healthcare professionals, patients and indirectly through pharmaceutical companies which have a legal obligation to report suspected ADRs. The number of reports received directly from the National Health Service cannot be determined.

The MHRA does not hold information on deterioration of health. Each ADR report contains information on an ADR at a specific point in time, rather than a deterioration of health over a period of time, and should therefore not be interpreted as a report of a deterioration of a patient's health.

The inclusion of a particular ADR in a report does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the drug, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have, or it had a close temporal relationship to the administration of the suspect drug. The fact that symptoms occur after a treatment does not necessarily mean that they have been caused by the drug itself, as underlying illnesses and other conditions may be responsible.

Citalopram is an antidepressant belonging to the class of medicines known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Citalopram is an effective medicine for the treatment of depression. Information about possible side-effects associated with treatment are provided in the product information which is available to all prescribers and patients. Data is evaluated as it emerges and where necessary regulatory action is taken and communicated to healthcare professionals and the information for patients is updated.

The UK cannot comment on specific reports. However, it is clear that Hamas has put Palestinians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and using civilians as human shields. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 23 November, where he met President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and other senior Israeli interlocutors to discuss the conflict. We are also clear that, in pursuing its legitimate right to self-defence against Hamas, Israel's military actions in Gaza must be carried out in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and Israel must take all possible measures to protect civilians.

The UK Government regularly assesses the impact of Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and escalates already high tensions, with consequences for the international community. It is for this reason that we currently have over 350 sanctions in place against the Iranian regime. PIJ and other terrorist groups must cease their campaign of violence, for which there is no justification. As the Foreign Secretary said in his 14 May statement, we welcome the current Egyptian-brokered ceasefire and urge all sides to de-escalate tensions.

The Foreign Secretary wrote to his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on 10 May to express the UK's enduring support for Israel's right for self-defence. In his 14 May statement, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and militant factions in Gaza, brokered by Egypt. The ceasefire must now be honoured to prevent the loss of further civilian life. The UK will support all efforts to promote dialogue and create a pathway towards sustainable peace.

Iran's ballistic missile programme destabilises the region and threatens European security. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (UNSCR 2231) calls on Iran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear-weapon, including launches using such technology. Alongside France and Germany, we have written regularly to the UN Secretary-General, including on 23 November, to draw attention to Iranian missile-activity inconsistent with UNSCR 2231. We have also urged Iran to refrain from such activity in UN Security Council meetings, including on 19 December. We urge Iran to fully abide by UNSCR 2231 and all other relevant resolutions.

The UK Government is committed to raising standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. The sale and consumption of dog meat is legal in many countries, including China, and there are no international norms, laws or agreements governing this. We believe that it is necessary to work with Governments around the world to gain agreement on animal welfare standards, and to phase out cruel and inhumane practices. There is no suggestion that the event will break any local or international laws. We have previously raised our concerns on specific animal welfare issues with the Chinese authorities and will continue to do so.

We want to deliver gigabit-capable broadband across the country as soon as possible.

We have already committed over £1 billion to support the rollout of next-generation digital infrastructure, and, at Conference, the Chancellor announced an ambition to invest £5bn to support gigabit broadband rollout in the hardest to reach areas.

We will set out further details of our approach in our National Infrastructure Strategy later this year.

This government aims to create an environment to help businesses to succeed. We are keeping taxes low, and ensuring firms can access the skills and support they need.

We have cut corporation tax to 19%, the lowest rate in the G20, and are developing a National Retraining Scheme so we are ready to seize opportunities in the new economy.

It is through measures like these, and the power of a vibrant and competitive market economy, that we will further drive growth and prosperity, encourage innovation and help raise living standards across the UK

Individuals whose pension savings exceed the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) are generally liable for tax when payments are made from their pension scheme.

Tax paid on LTA charges for 2010/11 to 2017/18 (year to date)

Numbers provided for tax collected may be subject to significant change over time as in some cases pension providers can claim back tax paid. For example, this can occur where an individual has protections above the current Lifetime Allowance, or where not all of the payment would have been subject to the Lifetime Allowance.

HMRC does not have estimates for future payments of LTA charges for 2018-19, 2019-20 or 2020-21. Any tax received from LTA charges forms a part of the overall Income Tax forecast.

[1] Please note the 2017/18 tax year runs until April 2018, and so further tax charges could come through for this year which are not reflected in the above tables. The number provided represents a year-to-date figure.

The Government set up the Joint Fraud Taskforce through which police, banks and trading standards work together to help protect vulnerable people from the fraudulent approaches made by doorstep criminals. The Banking Protocol, which helps bank staff recognise signs of fraud, such as unusually high cash withdrawals, has stopped over £9 million pounds from getting into criminal hands and led to over 100 arrests.

Elementary flying training for Ukrainian pilots is being planned in a manner which will not impact core Sovereign UK pilot training.

We are one of the leading providers of military support for Ukraine and were the first country to donate modern main battle tanks and long-range precision strike missiles. In addition, we have provided millions of rounds of ammunition, hundreds of armoured and protected mobility vehicles and other equipment.

Across hundreds of flights delivering this support in the last year, the entire Air Mobility Force has been engaged in the movement of equipment, supplies and trained Ukrainian recruits.

Whilst the Hercules C-130J fleet will continue to drawdown, a number of the aircraft have sufficient remaining flying hours to enable an extended drawdown to 30 June 2023, maximising use of the fleet.

Atlas availability is being actively managed. There has been a steady improvement in aircraft availability and fleet resilience. Following direct intervention and a determined improvement campaign, the daily aircraft availability is approximately 25% greater compared to 18-months ago. A number of Atlas airframes will complete upgrade before the summer, adding to the available fleet.

Whilst the Hercules C-130J fleet will continue to drawdown, a number of the aircraft have sufficient remaining flying hours to enable an extended drawdown to 30 June 2023, maximising use of the fleet.

Atlas availability is being actively managed. There has been a steady improvement in aircraft availability and fleet resilience. Following direct intervention and a determined improvement campaign, the daily aircraft availability is approximately 25% greater compared to 18-months ago. A number of Atlas airframes will complete upgrade before the summer, adding to the available fleet.

Whilst the Hercules C-130J fleet will continue to drawdown, a number of the aircraft have sufficient remaining flying hours to enable an extended drawdown to 30 June 2023, maximising use of the fleet.

Atlas availability is being actively managed. There has been a steady improvement in aircraft availability and fleet resilience. Following direct intervention and a determined improvement campaign, the daily aircraft availability is approximately 25% greater compared to 18-months ago. A number of Atlas airframes will complete upgrade before the summer, adding to the available fleet.