Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many security passes are valid for use on the Parliamentary Estate by (a) MPs, Peers and their staff; (b) staff supporting Parliamentary activities in each House, (c) staff supporting non-Parliamentary activities, (d) security guards; (e) police officers; (f) contractors and (g) any other category.
Answered by Charles Walker
A breakdown of pass data is available, however the categories used do not match up exactly with the categories specified. This is because the House regards every member of the Administration as supporting parliamentary activities, whether directly or indirectly.
The number of passes on issue changes constantly, so the following represents a snapshot of data recorded on 17 April 2024:
(a) MPs, Peers and their staff
(b) (c) and (d) Staff in both Houses
(e) police officers
(f) contractors
(g) any other category
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to support nurseries experiencing financial challenges as a result of increased business rates.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the pressure that businesses have been under since the pandemic and that is why the government froze the business rates multiplier for three consecutive years from April 2021 until April 2024 at a cost of £14.5 billion.
To make sure that the most vulnerable businesses continue to be supported, the government announced a further freeze to the small business multiplier at Autumn Statement for 2024-25, which will protect over a million ratepayers from a multiplier increase. This means bills will be 6.6 per cent lower than without the freeze. In addition to this support, some nurseries will already be in receipt of business rates relief where they have a ‘charitable purpose’, such as those part of academy chains.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the presence of foreign military bases on the sovereignty of host countries in West Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Decisions about hosting foreign military bases in Africa are for host countries to make. The UK supports the sovereignty of states and encourages all actors to ensure foreign forces are deployed in line with African Union and UN frameworks on peacekeeping and security operations. This ensures respect for international law and human rights, and accountability, are upheld. UK military will continue to work with, and at the invitation of, elected governments to support on security.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the level of performance of the Polycom phone system.
Answered by Charles Walker
The performance of the current telephony system is not good enough and is falling short of reasonable expectation. The Parliamentary Digital Service is working hard with our suppliers and technology partners to bring the level of service up to an acceptable standard. A new solution has been procured and will be implemented later this year. I apologise to the right hon. Member and all colleagues for the inconvenience they are experiencing.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what plans he has to collaborate with Israel on expediting the opening of the (a) Erez crossing and (b) Ashdod Port for humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has long urged Israel to take these steps and welcomes these commitments. We want to see Israel fulfil these commitments swiftly and in full. The Foreign Secretary discussed this with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 17 April.
The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Baerbock urged Israel to deliver on its promises of delivering more aid into Gaza through as many routes possible by land, sea and air.
We have also announced £3 million of additional funding for equipment to support the UN and aid agencies to get more aid into Gaza through new and existing land crossings. The UK's contribution will include trucks, forklifts, generators, fuel stores and lighting towers.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including ethnic breakdowns in all national statistics.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Government departments are responsible for the production of different national statistics. I have asked my officials to liaise with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ascertain the feasibility of including ethnic breakdowns in all national statistics.
A large amount of ethnicity data is already published on the Equality Hub’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures website. It was the first of its kind in terms of scale, scope and transparency and has been welcomed as best practice internationally. It contains statistics covering topics such as health, education, employment and the criminal justice system.
Publishing more ethnicity data for some topic areas may not always be possible. Ethnicity data may not be collected in some surveys or data collections. Where it is collected, data for some ethnic groups with smaller populations may not be published for reasons of disclosure or statistical reliability.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the nuanced sessions listed on the UK Defence and Security Experts Faculty website, how many nuanced sessions UK Defence and Security Exports has delivered in each year since 2019.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The number of people registered to a tailored event run by UKDSE Export Faculty since July 2022 (due to staff changes, unable to retrieve number of companies at other tailored faculty before this time): 834 people
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many firms have attended a tailored event run by the UK Defence and Security Exports export faculty in each year since 2019.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The number of people registered to a tailored event run by UKDSE Export Faculty since July 2022 (due to staff changes, unable to retrieve number of companies at other tailored faculty before this time): 834 people
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education of 23 April 2023 on Childcare Entitlements, Official Report, for what reason the statement was made (a) before the publication of a National Audit Office (NAO) on that matter and (b) while the NAO report was under embargo.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government’s plan to support hard working families is working. The department are making the largest ever investment in childcare in England’s history. By September 2025, when the new entitlements are fully rolled out, working families will on average save £6,900 with 30 hours free childcare from when their child is 9 months old until they start school.
The roll out has already been successful, with the government exceeding its targets for the April roll out of the first 15 hours for two year olds. As the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing set out in a statement to the house yesterday, and as acknowledged by the National Audit Office report, parents of over 195,000 two year olds are now benefitting from this government’s new and historic childcare offer.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to review the terms of the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Israel to update the current partnership agreement. The existing agreement guarantees tariff free trade on 99% of goods by value but contains no provisions to facilitate trade in services.
Services comprise around 80% of both the UK and Israel’s economies but they only make up about 44% of total trade between us (in the 12 months ending September 2023). The trading relationship between the UK and Israel is valued at £6.4 billion (as of September 2023) and there is significant room for growth – given the UK is the world’s second largest exporter of services. An upgraded trade deal will play to British strengths and unlock trade for our world-leading services and digital sectors.