Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to celebrate Black Country Day on 14 July 2022.
Answered by Boris Johnson
As a former resident of Bilston, I am proud of the enormous contribution that the Black Country has made and continues to make to the UK. I encourage everyone to join in as we celebrate the region's industrial heritage, history and culture on Black Country Day.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that High Street retailers benefit from proceeds of the Digital Services Tax.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government is currently consulting on the proposal for an Online Sales Tax as a means to rebalance the taxation of the retail sector between online and in-store retail.
The Digital Services Tax, on the other hand, is a 2 per cent tax on the revenues of search engines, social media services, and online marketplaces which derive value from UK users. It is a temporary solution to the challenges posed by digitalisation to the international system for taxing corporations’ profits.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to increase access to clean water for drinking and sanitation in developing counties, including desalination projects, in the last three years.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK has strong track record of supporting people in developing countries with clean water and sanitation. In the five-year period to 2020, we helped over 60 million people to gain access to clean water and/or sanitation, having also reached over 60 million people from 2011 to 2015. This was achieved using a mix of technologies and approaches depending on the location and context. We have also supported WHO and UNICEF to strengthen national service delivery and track progress towards water and sanitation global goal targets.
Desalination processes are utilised in limited instances by FCDO partners including UNICEF, primarily in coastal areas where freshwater is scarce. The capital and operational costs of desalination can be high and care is needed to mitigate the environmental impact of the brine produced by these systems. Nevertheless, in some situations including emergencies, desalination may be less expensive than options such as water trucking from a distant source. Therefore, the UK will continue to consider desalination, alongside alternatives, where water supply is needed.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department is taking to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Alister Jack
The Scotland Office is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption to reduce costs. Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.
The Government's recently published British Energy Security Strategy will protect the UK from price spikes in the future by accelerating our move towards cleaner, cheaper, home-grown energy.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) support groups for victims of domestic abuse and (b) increase the availability of such groups.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that dairy farmers (a) benefit from trade agreements and (b) have standards retained.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he has plans to celebrate Black Country Day on the 14 July 2022.
Answered by Boris Johnson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department is taking to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Department is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption to reduce costs. The Department's current targets to make progress on reducing emissions have been published as part of the Greening Government Commitments. The Government's recently published British Energy Security Strategy will protect the UK from price spikes in the future by accelerating our move towards cleaner, cheaper, home-grown energy.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Conor Burns
My Department is committed to making our estate and operations more sustainable and resilient, and supports, where possible, the delivery of this Government’s Greening Government Commitments. We are a small department, with a low carbon footprint arising from our accommodation and corporate travel requirements, and we choose to act sustainably when conducting every part of our business. As an example, we are taking steps to reduce our carbon emissions by utilising technology to enable virtual meetings rather than staff flying short haul between London and Belfast to attend all meetings face to face.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that UK dairy farmers benefit from trade agreements and that UK industry standards are retained in those agreements.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
Global demand for British food and drink is enormous, because British food and drink is the best in the world. We are an independent trading nation and have already started seizing new opportunities for British farmers that were previously denied to us. Recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Australia and New Zealand have achieved complete tariff removal for exports of our dairy products into those countries. We aim to deliver the export potential in international markets by further improving access for UK dairy products, by raising awareness, and by encouraging broader participation in exporting in both scale and variety.
The Government will help our farmers capitalise on global demand and will support companies through all stages of the export journey. Our online platform GREAT.gov.uk, the Export Support Service, Export Academy, UK Tradeshow Programme and UK Export Finance all serve our desire to grow UK exports.
In September last year, to mark Back British Farming Day, Government announced a package of support including establishment of a new UK-wide Food and Drink Exports Council to bring together industry and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to boost exports from all parts of the UK and building export capability in the sector (especially in SMEs); and the appointment of dedicated agri-food attachés, providing on-the-ground support to unlock and drive export opportunities from strategic locations around the world, covering the growth markets of the Gulf, Africa, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The UK Government has made a clear manifesto commitment that in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. The independent Trade and Agriculture Committee (TAC) recently published their report into the Australia free trade agreement, concluding that the deal reinforces our statutory protections in these areas.