Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress she has made on securing a free trade agreement with India.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The Secretary of State has just returned from India, where she met her counterpart in the Government of India to discuss the free trade agreement, including goods, services, and investment. She also had the opportunity to meet Indian and UK businesses, who made clear the mutual benefits a forward-facing deal could bring to both nations.
Round six is currently underway, and at its conclusion we will update the House via a Written Ministerial Statement.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether any of the equipment used by Iranian authorities in response to ongoing protests in that country was (a) manufactured in the UK or (b) exported from the UK.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
We have checked records of licences granted over the past twenty years and I can confirm that no licences for the export of crowd control equipment have been approved for Iran.
HM Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including if there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the needs of the NHS in negotiating future trade deals.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Department for International Trade works with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure a clear cross-Government position on the protection of the NHS in future trade agreements. Protecting the UK’s right to regulate in the public interest and protect public services, including the NHS, is of the utmost importance. The Government has been consistently clear that we are committed to the fundamental principles of the NHS - that it is universal and free at the point of need. We will ensure that no trade agreements alter these fundamental facts.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many civil servants in his Department are currently working on planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how many have been moved from other projects to work on those plans.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Government announced on Tuesday 18 December that no deal scenario planning was to ramp up, with departments setting contingency planning measures in motion. The Department for International Trade was created as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. All the work carried out by the Department is affected by EU Exit but individual roles are not classified according to particular EU Exit scenarios including leaving the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many projects his Department has put on hold due to the requirements of planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Government’s policy is for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union with a negotiated deal. Individual Departments are responsible for briefing businesses and other interested parties about contingency planning for all eventualities, and the Cabinet Office is co-ordinating contingency planning across Whitehall. Departments are continually looking at and reviewing workforce plans, reprioritising and assessing changing needs. We expect our ‘no deal’ plans will not be required, but will prepare responsibly to ensure the smoothest exit in all outcomes.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he has taken to protect arms exports after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The government’s Export Strategy addresses how government will maximise the impact of work for UK businesses and the UK economy across all sectors. In relation to defence exports, the Department for International Trade (DIT) supports the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) which aims to secure a competitive, sustainable and globally successful UK defence sector.
The UK has a track record of success in its defence industry, achieving defence orders worth £9bn in 2017 and sustaining tens of thousands of highly skilled manufacturing and engineering-based jobs across the UK.
HMG takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential contribution by UK businesses to the Indian Government's plan to replace all coal plants over 25-years old with super-critical coal plants.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government supports initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move to low carbon forms of electricity generation. We see a move away from the use of coal, the most carbon intensive of fuels, as an essential part of this.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to improve bilateral trade with India.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Prime Minister’s first bilateral visit beyond Europe was to India. Joined by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and myself, she led a UK business delegation, to meet with key Indian businesses and senior officials.
She met Prime Minister Modi, opened the India-UK Tech Summit, and announced £1.2bn of commercial deals. Both governments committed to building the “closest possible trade and economic relationship”.
My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade co-chairs the India/UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee, and established a Joint Working Group to review and strengthen our trading relationship, both now and when we leave the EU.
UK Export Finance has considerable appetite to support UK exports to India and welcomes new applications for support.