Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Minister for the Armed Forces plans to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry of 28 January 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are committed to ensuring Government responses to correspondence are timely, accurate, and high quality. On this occasion there was an administrative error which has caused a delay, for which I apologise. However, I can assure the hon. Member that I will be writing to him imminently on the matter he has raised.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of re-joining the EU single market on the UK economy, in the context of the UK-EU summit on 19 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The OBR has estimated that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU, and that imports and exports will eventually both be 15 per cent lower than had we stayed in the EU. As of the Spring Budget 2025, these assumptions are unchanged from its previous assessment. The OBR estimated in their March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that two-fifths of this impact to productivity had already materialised before the Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force in January 2021.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. There will be no return to the Customs Union or the single market. But we are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of re-joining the EU Customs Union on the UK economy, in the context of the UK-EU summit on 19 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The OBR has estimated that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU, and that imports and exports will eventually both be 15 per cent lower than had we stayed in the EU. As of the Spring Budget 2025, these assumptions are unchanged from its previous assessment. The OBR estimated in their March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that two-fifths of this impact to productivity had already materialised before the Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force in January 2021.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. There will be no return to the Customs Union or the single market. But we are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Office for Budget Responsibility's analysis of the change in the volume of UK imports and exports compared to if the UK had remained in the EU.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy and public finances, including assessments of potential impacts of policy changes. These are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which confirmed its assessment of EU exit’s economic impacts in its March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
HM Treasury continues to consider a range of data sources, including trade import and export figures, as part of the department’s ongoing monitoring of the UK economy.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, and as part of this we will welcome EU leaders to the UK for the first UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.28 of the Office of Budget Responsibility's publication entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in October 2024, if she will make an estimate of the macro economic cost of the change in overall trade intensity.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy and public finances, including assessments of potential impacts of policy changes. These are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which confirmed its assessment of EU exit’s economic impacts in its March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
HM Treasury continues to consider a range of data sources, including trade import and export figures, as part of the department’s ongoing monitoring of the UK economy.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, and as part of this we will welcome EU leaders to the UK for the first UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.28 of the Office of Budget Responsibility's publication entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in October 2024, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the change in overall trade intensity.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy and public finances, including assessments of potential impacts of policy changes. These are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which confirmed its assessment of EU exit’s economic impacts in its March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
HM Treasury continues to consider a range of data sources, including trade import and export figures, as part of the department’s ongoing monitoring of the UK economy.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, and as part of this we will welcome EU leaders to the UK for the first UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.28 of the Office of Budget Responsibility's publication entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in October 2024, which sectors will be impacted by the change in overall trade intensity.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy and public finances, including assessments of potential impacts of policy changes. These are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which confirmed its assessment of EU exit’s economic impacts in its March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
HM Treasury continues to consider a range of data sources, including trade import and export figures, as part of the department’s ongoing monitoring of the UK economy.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, and as part of this we will welcome EU leaders to the UK for the first UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to paragraph 2.28 of the Office of Budget Responsibility's publication entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the change in overall trade intensity on Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
In its latest economic outlook, the OBR expects the level of overall exports to recover in 2025 and return to growth over the period 2026 to 2029. The European Union is an important trade partner for the UK, with total trade in goods and services of £813 billion in 2024.
A closer, more co-operative relationship with the EU is in the UK’s national interests and the Prime Minister and President of the European Commission have agreed to strengthen the relationship between the UK and EU.
The UK-EU Summit on 19 May will provide an opportunity to make further progress on areas which will deliver tangible benefits working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as trade and the economy.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of practical driving tests at (a) Arbroath Test Centre and (b) Dundee Test Centre.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 18 December 2024, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.
DVSA continues to recruit DEs at Arbroath and Dundee driving test centres (DTC) and is currently working through the recruitment process from recent campaigns. As part of this, DVSA has two potential new DEs, one is booked on a training course and one is undergoing pre-employment checks. Additionally, one DE successfully passed training and is now conducting driving tests at Dundee and Arbroath.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases in hard-to-reach areas of Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The conflict in Sudan and the widespread destruction of sanitation and health services has caused devastating disease outbreaks across the country. Two-thirds of states in Sudan are now experiencing more than three different disease outbreaks, which are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. In response, the UK is supporting the United Nations Children's Fund and others who are delivering lifesaving emergency health interventions including cholera vaccines, treatment, and prevention. Specifically, we are also contributing to an ongoing cholera vaccination campaign in Kosti and Rabak, targeting one million people. UK aid is also addressing related needs across the region given the cross-border risks of Sudan's cholera outbreak. We continue to urge all parties in Sudan to facilitate humanitarian access so that aid reaches those most in need.