Stephen Gethins

We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC).

We are reviewing this case with other government departments and we will conclude our assessment once we receive that advice.

I refer the Hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry to my response to Question 12968 on 12^th November 2024: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-06/12968

The UK is party to 83 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that contain Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).

ISDS provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment and human rights.

The UK Space Agency Education and Future Workforce programme aims to build and strengthen a diverse workforce. This includes formal and informal educational activities, as well as specific support for developing a skilled workforce. Development programmes include the Space Placements in Industry internship programme, where 119 students were placed in UK space organisations in Summer 2024, alongside scholarship funding and the £2.1m Training Programmes Fund to address known skills gaps in the sector.

In July 2023, the Department for Education launched the Level 6 space degree apprenticeship, developed by a trailblazer group of space industry experts and building on the Level 4 space engineering technician apprenticeship launched in August 2020.

From 2018-2025, the UK Space Agency (UKSA) will have enabled and invested ~£126 million in Scotland through national programmes and European Space Agency (ESA) funding, including funding to establish launch services, co-funding for Space Scotland, and funding via the Space Cluster Infrastructure Fund to expand access to key engineering infrastructure.

The UKSA supports the UK sector in bidding for ESA contracts through initiatives including ESA 101 courses and Bid Writing Workshops. Over 1,000 individuals from 558 different organisations have signed up to take part, equipping them with skills to enhance their ESA bidding success.

Since the UK’s departure from the EU, DCMS hase closely monitored the sector's adaptation, particularly regarding touring. This Government is working closely with the music industry, and with guidance and support to help artists and professionals navigate the challenges that have emerged.

We will engage with the EU and EU Member States, and explore how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent without seeing a return to free movement. Our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to thrive on the global stage, including in the EU.

The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment. We are currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation in the UK.

The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment. We are currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation in the UK.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.

Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households that need it most, that is those receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

An equality analysis was produced as part of Ministerial decision making in line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty. This was published on 13 September and can be found here. By convention, such analyses are not published alongside secondary legislation. However, in view of the close public interest in this issue Ministers decided, exceptionally, to publish in this case.

For those with long-term illnesses, the “extra costs” disability benefits (namely Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) in England and Wales; and equivalent benefits in Scotland) provide a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs people with a long-term health condition can face, such as additional heating costs. They are paid monthly throughout the year. AA can be worth up to £5,600 a year and recipients are free to use their benefit according to their own priorities.

Receipt of disability benefits can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits (notably Pension Credit and Housing Benefit) for those on low incomes providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.

The UK has consistently been one of the leading international investors in Colombia. UK investors are protected by the Bilateral Investment Treaty and use it to inform their investment decisions. Since the formation of the new government, FCDO and DBT officials have discussed the content and provisions of the Treaty with the Colombian Government, including impact on various sectors. The Colombian Government has committed to working with us to ensure the agreement can continue to deliver benefits for UK businesses and Colombia.

Alongside our European allies, we continue to urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to utilise upcoming multilateral meetings to maintain momentum on the peace process to finalise a lasting peace agreement. Officials in London, Baku and Yerevan remain in regular close contact with European counterparts on peace negotiations. We regularly discuss these issues with our European counterparts.

As of the end of September 2024, £70 million had been disbursed. The rest of the UK's funding to Sudan this year - which now stands at £97 million following further UK support since March - will be distributed by the end of the financial year.

Preventing conflict and empowering women and girls is critical to the delivery of the government's missions, and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) remains a priority for the UK. We are working to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, including as vice chair of the International Alliance on PSVI and by supporting thousands of survivors around the world. Decisions on exact future strategies will be taken by ministers in due course.

The conflict in Sudan has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with famine now declared in Zamzam IDP camp in Darfur. 25.6 million people are facing crisis, emergency and famine levels of food insecurity across Sudan. The UK continues to put pressure on the Sudanese authorities to keep the Adre border open and allow for humanitarian assistance to reach those most in need. The UK works closely with key international partners, including the US, to bring an end to the conflict, protect civilians and press for improved humanitarian access. The UK welcomes the formation and work of the newly formed ALPS (Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan) group. The UK will continue to work with the US to put pressure on the warring parties to open up humanitarian access to ensure life-saving assistance can reach people in need. In August, I visited the region where I saw the impact of the conflict in Sudan on South Sudan - a country already facing its own humanitarian emergency. Here, I met with those who had fled both violence and hunger, re-iterating the true cost of this conflict and also met with bilateral partners including the US Ambassador to South Sudan. Lord Collins also co-hosted a side event at UNGA focused on tackling conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. This event spotlighted the situation for women and girls on the ground, explored the gaps in the ongoing response to CRSV, including the role of the international community in supporting and facilitating local and women-led efforts, and highlighted the urgent need for accountability.

The growth mission is the central mission of the government. Through the growth mission, the government is restoring economic stability, increasing investment, and reforming the economy to drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK.

The government sets its fiscal policy on the basis of the official OBR forecast, which is a central case. The OBR confirms the government is on track to meet its fiscal rules.

To clarify, section 2.28 of the OBR's latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook refers to a pre-existing judgement that has been captured in their forecasts for many years.

The UK economy has experienced significant disruption in recent years due to a range of factors including Covid-19, supply chain disruption and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It remains challenging to separate out the effects of leaving the Customs Union and Single Market from wider global trends affecting the UK economy.

It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to provide independent and authoritative analysis and forecasting for the UK public finances. The OBR has estimated that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU, and that imports and exports will eventually both be 15 per cent lower than had we stayed in the EU. The OBR estimated in March 2024 that 40% of this impact has already materialised.

The Government has no overall estimate of the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on public finances.

As part of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, the UK agreed the Financial Settlement, which is a methodology for settling pre-existing UK financial obligations to the EU. The European Union Finances Statement 2023 (available in the library of the House and on Gov.uk) sets out HMT Treasury’s estimates of the size of these obligations. As at December 2023, the UK is estimated to have paid £23.8bn (€27.4bn) in net liabilities to date as part of the EU financial settlement. Estimated UK outstanding net liabilities as of December 2023 were £6.4bn (€7.4bn).

I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to the Home Secretary’s written ministerial statement on 30 July 2024.

I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to the Home Secretary’s written ministerial statement on 30 July 2024.

I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to the Home Secretary’s written ministerial statement on 30 July 2024.

I have had frequent discussions with the Deputy First Minister of Scotland and have been clear that immigration should not be used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home. We value the important contribution made by workers from overseas, but we need to consider issues in the round, and work with industries to ensure they can attract the workforces they need for the future. To achieve this we are strengthening the Migration Advisory Committee, and establishing a framework for joint working with skills bodies across the UK, the Industrial Strategy Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

We are taking a joined up-approach across government, linking migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies – so immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home. We value the important contribution made by workers from overseas, but we need to consider issues in the round, and work with industries to ensure they can attract the workforces they need for the future. To achieve this we are strengthening the Migration Advisory Committee, and establishing a framework for joint working with skills bodies across the UK, the Industrial Strategy Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.