Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel on 22 February (HL13173) and 9 March (HL13586), to list in the body of their answer which specific countries they have secured continuity trade agreements with since the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
In addition to our deal with the EU, we have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, covering £890 billion of trade in total (2019 data). These are:
Albania;
Antigua and Barbuda;
Barbados;
The Bahamas;
Belize;
Botswana;
Cameroon;
Canada;
Colombia;
Côte d’Ivoire (The Ivory Coast);
Costa Rica;
Chile;
Dominica;
The Dominican Republic;
Ecuador;
Egypt;
El Salvador;
Eswatini (Swaziland);
The Faroe Islands;
Fiji;
Ghana;
Grenada;
Guyana;
Guatemala;
Georgia;
Honduras;
Iceland;
Israel;
Japan;
Jordan;
Jamaica;
Kenya;
Kosovo;
Lebanon;
Lesotho;
Liechtenstein;
Mexico;
Morocco;
Moldova;
Mozambique;
Mauritius;
Nicaragua;
Norway;
North Macedonia;
Namibia;
Peru;
Panama;
Papua New Guinea;
The Palestinian Authority;
Saint Lucia;
St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
Samoa;
The Solomon Islands;
St. Kitts and Nevis;
The Seychelles;
South Africa;
Switzerland;
Singapore;
South Korea;
Suriname;
Trinidad and Tobago;
Tunisia;
Turkey;
Ukraine;
Vietnam; and
Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the parties to the UK-SACU Economic Partnership Agreement have ratified that Agreement.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
As of 4th August 2020, Botswana and South Africa have completed their domestic ratification procedures. Britain completed her own domestic scrutiny procedures, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, on 5th February 2020. We continue to monitor progress closely in the remaining countries.
Our preference is that all our Southern Africa Customs Union + Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement partners ratify the agreement, so that it can enter into force at the end of the transition period. Nevertheless, we will consider all possible options to maintain continuity, including provisional application, if not every partner is able to ratify the agreement before the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many parties to the UK-SACU Economic Partnership Agreement they expect to have ratified that Agreement by 1 December.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
As of 4th August 2020, Botswana and South Africa have completed their domestic ratification procedures. Britain completed her own domestic scrutiny procedures, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, on 5th February 2020. We continue to monitor progress closely in the remaining countries.
Our preference is that all our Southern Africa Customs Union + Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement partners ratify the agreement, so that it can enter into force at the end of the transition period. Nevertheless, we will consider all possible options to maintain continuity, including provisional application, if not every partner is able to ratify the agreement before the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow provisional application of the UK-SACU Economic Partnership Agreement if the parties to that Agreement have not ratified it in time for it to come into force on 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
As of 4th August 2020, Botswana and South Africa have completed their domestic ratification procedures. Britain completed her own domestic scrutiny procedures, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, on 5th February 2020. We continue to monitor progress closely in the remaining countries.
Our preference is that all our Southern Africa Customs Union + Mozambique Economic Partnership Agreement partners ratify the agreement, so that it can enter into force at the end of the transition period. Nevertheless, we will consider all possible options to maintain continuity, including provisional application, if not every partner is able to ratify the agreement before the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate disruption to UK–Africa supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Department for International Trade is actively monitoring trade restrictions and their impact on supply chains and is working with partner governments in Africa to reduce disruption to them. At the G20, the United Kingdom supported commitment to keeping supply chains open and ensuring that restrictions are proportionate, temporary, and transparent. We have worked with Egypt on the supply of PPE and other medical equipment, and with Tunisia and Morocco so that electronic certificates of origin for goods they import are accepted for the duration of the Covid-19 period, mitigating disruption to UK-Africa supply chains by streamlining the customs process.
HMG is supporting African countries during the Covid-19 crisis through development assistance. This includes a vulnerable supply chains facility and programmes working in partnership with countries to respond to disruptions in global trade and supply chains in several countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what nationalities are represented among the staff of the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
The House of Lords Administration staff are responsible for self-declaring their nationality or citizenship. As at 27 February 2020, the House of Lords Administration employs staff who identify as nationals or citizens of the following 26 countries and nations:
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Botswana on that country's decision to lift the elephant hunting ban.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government takes the conservation of endangered species seriously. The UK and Botswana have a regular dialogue on conservation and counter-poaching activity. Ministers have not discussed with Botswanan counterparts the 22 May announcement to lift the 2014 suspension on hunting.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which nationalities were able to use e-passport gates in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) to date in 2019; and which nationalities are planned to be able to access e-passport gates in 2020.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Eligibility to use ePassport gates is currently limited to UK/EU/EEA and Swiss nationals aged 12 and over using an ePassport, and adult members of the Registered Traveller Service (RTS). From this summer, nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States of America will also be routinely eligible to use the ePassport gates.
In respect of RTS, in January 2016, it was open to eligible nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, United States of America, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region only), Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
In November 2016, RTS was expanded to include eligible nationals from Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Brunei, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Guatema-la, Honduras, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
A further expansion of RTS took place in October 2017 to include eligible nationals from Andorra, Bahamas, Botswana, Holy See (Vatican City), Ma-cao (Special Administrative Region of China), Maldives, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga and Trinidad and Tobago.
We keep the border under regular review and will monitor the impact of the recently announced expansion of eligibility before considering any further expansion to additional nationalities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Government of Botswana on ensuring the protection of endangered species in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Botswana is a key partner in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. President Masisi attended the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in October 2018 and I took this opportunity to meet with the Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Unity Dow, and Environment Minister, Tshekedi Khama, to discuss Botswana's important role in the protection of endangered species. The UK and Botswana also have a regular dialogue on conservation and counter-poaching activity. Botswana faces a number of conservation challenges and has recently consulted widely on human-wildlife conflict.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 January 2019 on Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting: Update on delivery, HCWS1247, which Commonwealth member states are supported by his Department and the World Bank to deliver national cyber security reviews; what funding he has allocated to that programme; and when those reviews will report.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018, the UK will fund at least ten national cyber security capacity reviews before the next Heads of Government meeting in 2020. The ten member states currently planned for a review are: Nigeria, the Gambia, Mauritius, Lesotho, Botswana, Cameroon, Namibia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. £0.7 million has been currently set aside from the Commonwealth 18-20 Fund and the UK Prosperity Fund for these reviews.