Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the value of exports to the EU from Welsh (a) agriculture, (b) aerospace, (c) construction, (d) electronics, (e) manufacturing, (f) renewable energy, (g) services, (h) textile and (i) fishing industries was in the last six years.
Answered by Alun Cairns
The information below detail the value of exports to the EU for all industries in Wales at Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) levels 1 & 2 in Quarter 3 2016. Due to recent revisions in HMRC methods, data before this currently uses the previous methodology. My officials have been in contact with HMRC and have been told the historic figures using the new methods will be published shortly.
SITC 1 Level
Exports to the EU Quarter 3 2016 | (£000’s) |
0 - Food & live animals | 59568 |
1 - Beverages & tobacco | 7277 |
2 - Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 13573 |
3 - Mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials | 181245 |
4 - Animal & vegetable oils, fats & waxes | 1013 |
5 - Chemicals & related products, nes | 220020 |
6 - Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 293702 |
7 - Machinery & transport equipment | 984245 |
8 - Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 165824 |
9 - Commodities/transactions not class'd elsewhere in SITC | 18698 |
SITC 2 Level
Exports to the EU Quarter 3 2016 | (£000’s) |
00 - Live animals other than animals of division 03 | 616 |
01 - Meat & meat preparations | 19227 |
02 - Dairy products & birds' eggs | 9181 |
03 - Fish, crustaceans, molluscs & aq.inverts & preps thereof | 7593 |
04 - Cereals & cereal preparations | 8812 |
05 - Vegetables & fruit | 1715 |
06 - Sugar, sugar preparations & honey | 603 |
07 - Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices & manufactures thereof | 2009 |
08 - Feeding stuff for animals (not inc.unmilled cereals) | 2484 |
09 - Miscellaneous edible products & preparations | 7328 |
11 - Beverages | 7272 |
12 - Tobacco & tobacco manufactures | 5 |
21 - Hides, skins & furskins, raw | 486 |
22 - Oil seeds & oleaginous fruits | 8 |
23 - Crude rubber (including synthetic & reclaimed) | 129 |
24 - Cork & wood | 309 |
25 - Pulp & waste paper | 221 |
26 - Textile fibres not manufactured & their waste etc | 583 |
27 - Crude fertilizers & crude minerals (exc fuels etc) | 310 |
28 - Metalliferous ores & metal scrap | 10566 |
29 - Crude animal & vegetable materials n.e.s. | 961 |
32 - Coal, coke & briquettes | 1209 |
33 - Petroleum, petroleum products & related materials | 172034 |
34 - Gas, natural & manufactured | 5041 |
35 - Electric current | 2961 |
41 - Animal oils & fats | 611 |
42 - Fixed vegetable fats & oils, crude, refined, fractionated | 301 |
43 - Animal or vegetable fats & oils, processed, & waxes | 101 |
51 - Organic chemicals | 34390 |
52 - Inorganic chemicals | 2038 |
53 - Dyeing, tanning & colouring materials | 18593 |
54 - Medicinal & pharmaceutical products | 56479 |
55 - Essential oils & perfume materials; toilet preps etc | 20046 |
56 - Fertilizers (other than those of group 272) | 131 |
57 - Plastics in primary forms | 34570 |
58 - Plastics in non-primary forms | 28120 |
59 - Chemical materials & products n.e.s. | 25653 |
61 - Leather, leather manufactures n.e.s & dressed furskins | 131 |
62 - Rubber manufactures n.e.s. | 27340 |
63 - Cork & wood manufactures (excluding furniture) | 1113 |
64 - Paper, paperboard & manufactures thereof | 29447 |
65 - Textile yarn, fabrics, made up articles etc | 8493 |
66 - Non-metallic mineral manufactures n.e.s. | 17717 |
67 - Iron & steel | 60142 |
68 - Non-ferrous metals | 100491 |
69 - Manufactures of metal n.e.s. | 48828 |
71 - Power generating machinery & equipment | 13727 |
72 - Machinery specialized for particular industries | 19750 |
73 - Metalworking machinery | 1757 |
74 - General industrial machinery & eqp. & machine pt.n.e.s. | 31429 |
75 - Office machines & adp machines | 36220 |
76 - Telecomms & sound recording & reproducing app. & eqp. | 17308 |
77 - Ele machinery, app & appliances & ele pt thereof n.e.s. | 66903 |
78 - Road vehicles (including air cushion vehicles) | 110982 |
79 - Other transport equipment | 686169 |
81 - P/fab buildings; sanit., plumbing, heating &lighting fixt. | 3929 |
82 - Furniture & parts thereof; bedding, mattresses etc | 25936 |
83 - Travel goods, handbags & similar containers | 2240 |
84 - Articles of apparel & clothing accessories | 18614 |
85 - Footwear | 6234 |
87 - Professional, scientific & controlling ins & app n.e.s. | 21485 |
88 - Photographic & optical goods, n.e.s.; watches & clocks | 7758 |
89 - Miscellaneous manufactured articles n.e.s. | 79628 |
93 - Special transactions and commodities not classified according to kind | 17352 |
96 - Coin (other than gold coin), not being of legal tender | 0 |
98 - Military arms and ammunition | 1346 |
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce his final decision on implementing changes to the exemption from compulsory annual roadworthiness testing for vehicles of historic interest; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
The consultation on proposed changes to roadworthiness testing for vehicles of historical interest closed on 2 November. Over 2,000 responses were received. These are receiving consideration. We will be finalising the changes, including publishing our response, in the Spring of 2017.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the UK meets its commitments in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (a) nationally and (b) globally.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The UK has ratified the Paris Agreement. The UK is already playing its part in delivering the Paris Agreement through our ambitious domestic climate framework. We have shown our commitment to the UK’s Climate Change Act by setting the Fifth Carbon Budget in law. This budget is set in line with the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change and has been widely welcomed by the business community for the certainty it gives in our move to a low carbon economy. The creation of the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will enable a whole economy approach to delivering our climate change ambitions.
I attended COP22 in Marrakech this year. The UK played a significant role in driving forward negotiations and discussions – particularly on mobilising climate finance. At these negotiations, progress was made on how to implement Paris Agreement, setting a clear deadline of 2018 for its finalisation. The UK also announced participation in a number of initiatives, including: supporting developing countries to implement their Paris commitments, tackling air pollution and investing further in research and development. For the first time at a COP, the UK had a Green is GREAT pavilion, showcasing British public and private sector strengths in responding to the challenges of climate change, including innovative commercial solutions and financial expertise.
The UK is supporting vulnerable countries to take action against climate change. The UK will provide at least £5.8bn from the UK aid budget between 2016 and 2020 as climate finance which will continue to provide strong support to help vulnerable developing countries adapt to climate change and take up sustainable, low carbon, resilient and inclusive development. This includes technical assistance and capacity building to help countries implement their national plans under the Paris Agreement. UK climate finance to date has already directly supported 21 million people to cope with the effects of climate change, and improved access to energy for 6.6 million people. The finance has also helped prevent 4.9 million tonnes of CO2, this is roughly equivalent to emissions from 1 million vehicles driven for one year.
We have also recently seen two significant global climate deals that – although separate from the UNFCCC process – will be important steps towards meeting the Paris goals. The UK played a key role in securing a major deal to combat aviation emissions, the first worldwide scheme to address emissions in any single sector, and also in securing a historic deal to phase down the production and use of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) by 2047, which will avoid 0.5 degrees of global warming by the end of this century. The UK is already phasing down the use of HFCs by 80% by 2030 and now the rest of the world will be following our lead.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to bring the date at which a motor vehicle is treated by the Government as historic for MOT purposes into line with the date at which the Government regards a vehicle as historic for vehicle excise duty purposes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
A consultation is being planned about MOT testing, including the scope of exemptions from MOTs, for vehicles of historic interest. The proposal to bring the MOT date into line with the dates for vehicle excise duty is likely to be one consultation option. We hope to launch this consultation later this year. The target for making changes is for them to come into effect by May 2017.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the value of artwork and antiques held by local authorities.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The information requested is not available.
However, the Department does collect information about total heritage assets held by local authorities which includes museum and gallery collections and works of art, as well as historical buildings, archaeological sites, military and scientific equipment of historical importance, historic motor vehicles, recordings of significant historical events etc.
The latest local authority figures that have been published are for 2013-14 and can be found in the drop down table entitled “Capital outturn return (COR5) 2013 to 2014 receipts and fixed assets for England” at:
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles have been reassessed by the DVLA for their historic vehicle status; and how many such vehicles have (a) retained their historic status and (b) had their historic status revoked as a result of the reassessment.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The DVLA is carrying out a targeted exercise involving a small number of historic vehicles. So far, 30 of these vehicles have retained their historic vehicle status. No vehicles have yet had their historic vehicle status removed.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the DVLA's investigation into the proper registration of historic vehicles in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is currently carrying out a targeted exercise involving a small number of historic vehicles. This is in response to concerns expressed to the DVLA that a number of newly built replica vehicles had been incorrectly registered as historic vehicles.
The DVLA has advised 30 vehicle keepers that, following consideration of the evidence provided, their registrations are correct. A number of keepers have advised the DVLA that they are in the process of gathering the required information.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that petrol with nil or low biofuel content remains widely available for (a) vehicles registered as historic and (b) other older vehicles; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The ethanol content of petrol supplied in the UK is a commercial matter for fuel suppliers, subject to the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999 which set the maximum permissible ethanol content of petrol at ten per cent, known as E10. The Regulations set no minimum ethanol content.
E10 is not yet on sale in the UK. Petrol sold in the UK today typically contains up to five per cent ethanol, known as E5.
The Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 ensure that E5 petrol will continue to remain available until the end of 2016, thereby providing a ‘protection grade’ of petrol for drivers of those vehicles which would be incompatible with petrol which has a higher ethanol content.
Should E10 be rolled out by suppliers, we will carefully assess the compatibility of the UK vehicle fleet in determining whether to extend the regulatory requirement for E5 to remain available beyond 2016.
This Government recognises the concerns of owners of some older vehicles that may not be compatible with E10. The Department is in regular contact with suppliers who in turn have been asked to write to us to give at least three months of notice if they were to plan the introduction of this fuel. As yet none have indicated they have any immediate plans to introduce E10.
Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the use of interrupter devices to falsify driving records.
Answered by Claire Perry
In order to tackle the use of tachograph interrupter devices, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) use a number of initiatives and strategies. During 2013/14 DVSA carried out 91,519 drivers hours and tachograph system checks at the roadside, which resulted in 12,671 prohibitions being issued for detected offences. Out of those offences, 259 interrupter devices were found.
Over the last four years DVSA examiners have identified 998 vehicles where interrupter devices had been used. This resulted in the vehicles’ prohibition and immobilisation, prosecution of the driver and follow up action for the responsible operator. DVSA ensure that they have a constant presence in key strategic locations on the road network and can target high risk vehicles using automatic number place recognition equipment. They have also recently added on-board diagnostic equipment to its suite of enforcement targeting tools, this equipment facilitates electronic interrogation of vehicle electronic control units, which can identify where tachograph interference has taken place, with historic data being available.
Where offences are found at the roadside for UK operators, formal follow-up action is instigated and further investigations are made, often resulting in formal legal action being taken. Vehicles will have their interrupter devices removed at an approved tachograph calibration centre.
Where offences are found at the roadside for foreign operators, fixed penalty notices are issued and vehicles are prohibited and immobilised, their interrupter device will also be removed. Information on these offences is passed to the national enforcement bodies of the vehicles concerned for further action.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the requirement to display a tax disc in a vehicle on (a) enforcement activities, (b) the number of untaxed cars on the road and (c) the level of vehicle tax evasion in the UK in 2014-15.
Answered by Claire Perry
Her Majesty’s Treasury carried out an assessment of the effects of the changes to the requirement to display a tax disc in a vehicle. This assessment was published alongside Finance Act 2014 and concluded that removing the requirement was not expected to have an impact on income from vehicle excise duty.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has not relied on the paper tax disc in the enforcement of vehicle excise duty for some time. The DVLA and the police largely rely on the DVLA’s electronic vehicle register and tools like Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to ensure that payments have been made.
The DVLA operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion, from reminder letters and penalties through to court prosecutions and the wheel clamping and/or removal of unlicensed vehicles.
These measures have helped to improve compliance. Vehicle Excise Duty evasion is at a historic low of 0.6%. The DVLA does not expect the abolition of the paper tax disc to result in an increase in vehicle excise duty evasion.