Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the sustainability of finance from the UK-ETS to be used to support the development of the UK Sustainable aviation fuel industry.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Carbon pricing will play a key role in helping the UK achieve Net Zero. The UK launched our own Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) at the beginning of 2021, covering the power, industrial and aviation sectors. It raises funds to be invested across the Government’s spending priorities, including our public services as well as our Net Zero ambitions. The UK ETS Authority is currently consulting on developing the UK ETS, including aligning the total cap on emissions with net zero.
The Government is also supporting Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), although these are not ringfenced funds from the ETS. At the Spending Review, the Government committed £180m to accelerate the commercialisation of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plants and to set up a UK clearing house for SAF. The Government also extended its long-term commitment to the aerospace sector, guaranteeing funding for the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) to 2031, co-investing with industry in world-class research and development. The ATI will receive a record £685m of funding over the next 3 years, an increase of more than 50%. This activity will help drive the development of zero-emission flight technology, which is an important part of our Jet Zero ambitions to decarbonise aviation.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which international organisations are in receipt of privileges in the UK within the terms of the International Organisations Act 1968 as of 12 May 2022.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The following International Organisations are in receipt of privileges and immunities in the UK as of 12 May 2022 within the terms of the International Organisations Act and other relevant legislation:
African Development Bank | European Investment Bank | International Development Association | North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) |
African Development Fund | European Medicines Evaluation Agency | International Education Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) | North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Naval Communications Agency |
Asian Development Bank | European NGSS Agency | International Finance Corporation | Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development |
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank | European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) | International Fund for Agricultural Development | Organisation Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) |
Bank for International Settlements (BIS) | European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) | International Grains Organisation (formerly International Wheat Council) | Organisation Prohibition of Chemical Weapons |
Caribbean Development Bank | European Parliament | International Labour Organisation | Oslo and Paris Commissions (OSPAR) |
Common Fund for Commodities | European Patent Organisation | International Lead and Zinc Study Group | Preparatory Commission for Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation |
Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International (CABI) | European Space Agency | International Maritime Organisation | Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO) |
Commonwealth Foundation | European Southern Observatory | International Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO) | United Nations |
Commonwealth Secretariat | European Telecommunications Satellite Organisation | International Monetary Fund (IMF) | United Nations Development Programme |
Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation | European Union | International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund | United Nations Environment Programme |
Council of Europe | Food and Agricultural Organisation (of the UN) | International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund 1992 | United Nations Information Centre |
Customs Cooperation Council | Hong Kong Export Trade Office | International Organisation for Migration | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | Independent International Commission on Decommissioning | International Rubber Study Group | United Nations World Food Programme |
European Atomic Energy Community | Inter-American Development Bank | International Seabed Authority | Unified Patents Court |
European Banking Authority | International Atomic Energy Agency | International Sugar Organisation | Universal Postal Union |
European Bioinformatics Institute (also known as European Molecular Biology Laboratory) | International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) | International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (ITSO) | World Health Organisation |
European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting | International Civil Aviation Organisation | International Telecommunications Union | World Intellectual Property Organisation |
European Coal and Steel Community | International Cocoa Organisation | International Tribunal Law of the Sea | World Meteorological Organisation |
European Commission of Human Rights | International Coffee Organisation | International Whaling Commission (IWC) | World Trade Organisation |
European Committee for Prevention of Torture | International Court of Justice (UN) | North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) | |
European Community | International Criminal Court | North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) |
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the impact on tourism of the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to allow Heathrow Airport to increase charges to its airline customers by 50 per cent.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Civil Aviation Authority is the independent economic regulator of Heathrow Airport and its primary duty is to further the interests of consumers. In doing so, it must also have regard to, amongst other things, the need for Heathrow Airport to be able to finance the investment necessary to keep the airport safe, secure and resilient. The Civil Aviation Authority has imposed a ‘holding’ price cap of £30.19 per passenger for 2022, which will be trued up or down once the five-year (2022-2026) regulatory settlement is finalised later this year. The setting of air fares is a commercial matter for individual airlines.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her Department's procurement exercise for the General Aerospace Legal Panel, reference 260167/1011745, if she will publish the business case for the expenditure of £40 million on the provision of a General Aerospace Legal Panel.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The purpose of the General Aerospace Legal Panel is to procure a panel of law firms to provide specialist legal advice and representation to UK Export Finance (UKEF), primarily in relation to when it provides ‘financing’ support to exporters in the aviation sector. The cost of such legal advice provided by the panel firm is typically met by the borrower rather than UKEF. The contract value advertised is the maximum value that can be spent through the framework during its four year term through subsequent call-off contracts and not the value of any committed spend.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of unemployment rates in (1) aviation communities, and (2) communities dependant on industries associated with aviation, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; and what specific support they have made available to such communities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport is committed to addressing the ongoing impact COVID-19 has had on the aviation sector. Aviation supported around half a million jobs across all regions of the UK before COVID-19, and since the start of the pandemic there have been tens of thousands of job cuts, mainly concentrated in the South East.
Businesses across the industry have drawn on economy wide measures including the Covid Job Retention Scheme and Covid Corporate Finance Facility, and sector specific support such as the Airport and Ground Operators Support Scheme. We estimate that by the end of September 2021 the air transport sector will have benefited from around £7bn of Government support since the start of the pandemic, with an estimated 50% of air transport sector employees currently furloughed.
Over £25bn has also been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. The Government has extended business rates relief, introduced new Restart grants of up to £18,000, and has extended the cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% until the end of September.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current support available for (1) the aviation sector, and (2) its supply chain.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the challenging circumstances facing the aviation industry as a result of Covid-19 and businesses across the sector can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor. We continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.
In total, we estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefited from around £7 billion of Government support since the start of the pandemic. This includes support through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The extension of Government-backed loans and furlough payments announced at the budget build on this and will help ensure this vital and vibrant part of the UK economy is ready to bounce back in the wake of the pandemic.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding has been allocated to the Airspace Modernisation programme in response to Budget 2021.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The UK’s airspace is an essential part of our national transport infrastructure. The Government is therefore committed to modernising UK airspace, in order to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys and more capacity for the benefit of those who use and are affected by UK airspace.
The Government has recently announced that it will be providing up to £5.5m to support airspace modernisation over 20-21 and 21-22, to ensure that this work continues, despite the challenges that Covid-19 has presented for the aviation sector.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the funding available through the COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility; what plans they have to extend the term for such loans beyond 12 months; and how they intend to make such loans more accessible to the aviation industry.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) was set up in March 2020 to provide short-term liquidity for fundamentally strong firms. It was introduced during a period of exceptional volatility in financial markets to support corporate markets and ease the supply of credit to all firms.
As corporate credit conditions are increasingly supportive, the CCFF will close to new issuance from 23 March. Firms that have already accessed the scheme and meet the requirements are able to extend their loans for up to twelve months, providing funding until March 2022.
The CCFF has helped large corporates across a range of sectors, including the aviation industry. In total, the CCFF has provided over £34bn of support to some of the UK’s largest firms, directly supporting businesses responsible for almost 2.5 million jobs in the UK.
The Government recognises the challenging circumstances facing the aviation industry as a result of Covid-19 and HM Treasury continues to support the Department for Transport’s work leading the Global Travel Taskforce to facilitate a resumption of international travel. Firms can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including flexibilities with tax bills and the extended furlough scheme. The aerospace sector and its aviation customers are also being supported with almost £11 billion made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, and grants for research and development. This includes £8bn of UK Export Finance Guarantees.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the financial support provided to airports during the COVID-19 pandemic was issued through (1) loans, and (2) grants.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.
This includes more than £2bn through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and we estimate that the air transport sector will have received around £1bn in support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) up to the end of April 2021.
We have guaranteed loans to airlines through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (£25m) and we expect to pay out around £80m in grants to commercial airports and ground handlers by the end of the financial year, through the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS).
Further cross-economy measures are also available to businesses in the aviation sector. Since the start of this year (2021) £3.4bn of loans have been partially supported through export development guarantees. This includes a £1.4bn loan facility for easyJet, and a £2bn loan facility for British Airways, which will be largely guaranteed by UK Export Finance.
The Chancellor has announced the renewal of the scheme to help airports and ground operators with their fixed costs, with additional grants of up to £4m between April and September, an extension of furlough payments to September, and an online jobs market matching aviation employees with thousands of vacancies.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much, in total, they have provided in (1) grants, and (2) loans, to the aviation sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We estimate that by the end of April 2021 the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.
This includes more than £2bn through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and we estimate that the air transport sector will have received around £1bn in support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) up to the end of April 2021.
We have guaranteed loans to airlines through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (£25m) and we expect to pay out around £80m in grants to commercial airports and ground handlers by the end of the financial year, through the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS).
Further cross-economy measures are also available to businesses in the aviation sector. Since the start of this year (2021) £3.4bn of loans have been partially supported through export development guarantees. This includes a £1.4bn loan facility for easyJet, and a £2bn loan facility for British Airways, which will be largely guaranteed by UK Export Finance.
The Chancellor has announced the renewal of the scheme to help airports and ground operators with their fixed costs, with additional grants of up to £4m between April and September, an extension of furlough payments to September, and an online jobs market matching aviation employees with thousands of vacancies.