Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Answer of 24 October 2023 to Question 203456 on France: Foreign Relations, what recent steps his Department has taken to prepare for the commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordiale with France.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
On 23 January, the British Embassy in Paris and the French Embassy in London launched celebrations for the Entente Cordiale 120th anniversary year. The two embassies are collaborating on a range of events this year reflecting the breadth of the UK-France relationship. They will showcase our longstanding cooperation on issues including climate change, science, sport, culture, defence, education, and trade.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of draught relief for (a) beer and (b) cider.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the new alcohol duty system, Draught Relief provides a 9.2% duty reduction on draught beer and cider products below 8.5% alcohol by volume. This ensures that there will always be a lower duty rate for draught products to recognise the value of our great British pubs. This means that every pint, in every pub across the UK pays less duty than their supermarket equivalent - this is the Government's Brexit Pubs Guarantee.
The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms, including Draught Relief, and will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate the effects of the reform.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) EU and (b) French counterparts on the implementation of the new EU entry/exit system.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new system. This includes working with port owners and operators to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts at the border. HMG’s focus is on the juxtaposed locations of Dover, St Pancras and Eurotunnel as the EES processes there will take place before departure from the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) Eurostar, Port of Dover and (b) Eurotunnel on the implementation of the new EU entry/exit system.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new system. This includes working with port owners and operators to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts at the border. HMG’s focus is on the juxtaposed locations of Dover, St Pancras and Eurotunnel, as the EES processes there will take place before departure from the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the new EU entry/exit system on vehicle processing times at the Eurotunnel terminal.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new system at Eurotunnel. This includes working with Eurotunnel to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts there, as the EES processes there will take place before departure from the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the new EU entry/exit system on passenger processing times at St Pancras International station.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new system at St Pancras. This includes working with High Speed 1 and Eurostar to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts there, as the EES processes there will take place before departure from the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the new EU entry/exit system on vehicle processing times at Dover ferry port.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is engaging both the European Commission and French Government through officials holding routine technical meetings to understand and influence the implementation plans of the new system at Dover. This includes working with the Port of Dover to understand and support their plans to mitigate EES and ETIAS impacts there, as the EES processes there will take place before departure from the UK.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that Hamas are withholding fuel from civilians in Gaza.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are aware of Israel's concerns about the stockpiling of fuel by Hamas terrorists. However, this does not negate the need for fuel to urgently get to those who do need it in Gaza. Fuel is necessary to allow humanitarian organisations to deliver assistance, power hospitals and operate desalinisation plants and bakeries. We urge the Government of Israel to allow sufficient aid and fuel into Gaza to meet the needs of civilians. Incremental progress has been made, but significantly more is needed. The UK was outraged at Hamas' terror attacks in Israel on 7 October, and supports Israel's right to defend itself proportionately, in line with International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department issues guidance to benefit assessors on assessing (a) Crohn’s Disease, (b) Ulcerative Colitis and (c) other fluctuating conditions for Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
All assessment providers (APs) are required to ensure that health professionals (HPs) carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments have a broad training in disability analysis, as well as awareness training in specific conditions ranging from common to rare.
At present, neither Independent Assessment Services nor Capita have a specific Condition Insight Report (CIR) relating to Crohn’s Disease. However, HPs have access to a range of resources as well as experienced clinicians to support them in assessing individuals with conditions that they may not be familiar with. Additionally, assessment providers engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders, to strengthen their training programmes and Capita recently developed a CIR for HPs on Ulcerative Colitis in collaboration with Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
It is stressed in the HP training that, although a claimant may sometimes be able to perform a task, they may not be able to do so safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, or in a reasonable time-period due to pain, fatigue, etc. HPs are expected to be mindful of the fact that many conditions fluctuate, producing symptoms that vary in intensity from mild to severe, and are instructed not to base their opinion solely on the situation as observed at the assessment. This is further explained in the PIP Assessment Guide for APs available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessments his Department has made regarding the adequacy of the managing toilet needs or incontinence descriptor for Personal Independence Payment claims.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was established in collaboration with a wide range of experts and stakeholders, and following a comprehensive public consultation between 2010-2012, including on the activities and descriptors.
We believe the resulting descriptors relating to the managing toilet needs or incontinence activity is the best way of identifying people whose daily living is most affected by this.