Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the evidential basis is for his Department's tweet of 6 January 2024 that the UK had the lowest effective average personal tax rate in the G7; and what the effective average personal tax rate is in each G7 country.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to rewarding hard work through a fair and simple tax system that is also competitive internationally. The Government is taking a responsible approach by delivering tax cuts within the fiscal rules.
The tweet of 6 January 2024 was based on the most recently published data from the OECD’s Taxing Wages 2023 publication. This shows the total personal tax liability divided by salary for a single employed individual with no children on average earnings for Germany (37.4%), Italy (28.8%), France (27.7%), Canada (25.6%), the US (24.8%) and Japan (22.3%). Following the 2p NICs cut made at Autumn Statement, the effective personal tax rate for an employee on £44,300 (the OECD’s figure for UK average earnings) reduced from 23.6% to 21.5%, which would be the lowest rate in the G7, according to the latest available OECD data. This has fallen to 20.1% following the further 2p NICs cut made at Spring Budget.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to collaborate with its counterparts in other countries to tackle fraud.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Last week the Government hosted the first ever Global Fraud Summit.
This brought together Ministers and senior representatives from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the Republic of Korea as well as the United Nations, European Union, Financial Action Task Force and INTERPOL to emphasise the need for international collaboration to tackle fraud.
We agreed an ambitious communiqué which sets out a new international framework to better understand and address the threat and keep our citizens safe.
We will continue to build upon these commitments whilst also engaging bilaterally with key countries to build capability and strengthen their ability to tackle and disrupt fraud before it reaches the UK.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.
Answered by James Heappey
The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.
Country (NRA) | Location of DA |
Angola | Mozambique - Maputo |
Anguilla (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Antigua & Barbuda | Jamaica - Kingston |
Armenia | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Azerbaijan | Georgia – Tbilisi |
Bahamas | Jamaica - Kingston |
Barbados | Jamaica - Kingston |
Belarus | Ukraine – Kyiv |
Belize | Jamaica - Kingston |
Benin | Accra - Ghana |
Bermuda (British overseas territory) | USA – Washington DC |
Botswana | Harare - Zimbabwe |
British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Burkina Faso | Ghana - Accra |
Burundi | Uganda – Kampala |
Cambodia | (In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi |
Cayman Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica – Kingston |
Chad | Cameroon - Yaoundé |
Cuba | Mexico – Mexico City |
Djibouti | Ethiopia – Addis Ababa |
Dominica | Jamaica - Kingston |
Dominican Republic | Jamaica - Kingston |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kampala - Uganda |
Eritrea | Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh) |
Ecuador | Bogota - Colombia |
Grenada | Jamaica - Kingston |
Guinea | Sierra Leone – Freetown |
Guyana | Jamaica - Kingston |
Guatemala | Mexico – Mexico City |
Guinea-Bissau | Senegal - Dakar |
Haiti | Jamaica - Kingston |
Hungary | Croatia - Zagreb |
Iceland | Norway - Oslo |
Ivory Coast | Ghana – Accra |
Khartoum | Egypt - Cairo |
Kosovo | Macedonia - Skopje |
Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan – Astana |
Laos | (in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi |
Lesotho | South Africa - Pretoria |
Liberia | Sierra Leone - Freetown |
Luxembourg | Belgium - Brussels |
Malawi | Zimbabwe – Harare |
Mali | Senegal - Dakar |
Malta | Rome - Italy |
Mauritania | Morocco – Rabat |
Monaco | France – Paris |
Mongolia | Japan – Tokyo |
Myanmar | Thailand - Bangkok |
Montserrat (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Namibia | South Africa – Pretoria |
Niger | Cameroon – Yaoundé |
Papua New Guinea | Australia – Canberra |
Paraguay | Argentina – Buenos Aires |
Peru | Colombia - Bogota |
Rwanda | Uganda – Kampala |
Seychelles | Kenya - Nairobi |
St Kitts & Nevis | Jamaica - Kingston |
St Lucia | Jamaica - Kingston |
St Vincent | Jamaica - Kingston |
Slovakia | Czech Rep - Prague |
Slovenia | Austria – Vienna |
South Sudan | Addis Ababa – Ethiopia |
Switzerland | Vienna - Austria |
Syria | Lebanon - Beirut |
Tajikistan | Kazakhstan – Astana |
Tanzania | Kenya – Nairobi |
The Gambia | Senegal - Dakar |
Timor-Leste (East Timor) | Indonesia - Jakarta |
Togo | Ghana – Accra |
Tonga | Fiji – Suva |
Trinidad & Tobago | Jamaica - Kingston |
Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan - Tashkent |
Turks & Caicos Islands (British overseas territory) | Jamaica - Kingston |
Uruguay | Argentina - Buenos Aires |
Vanuatu | Fiji – Suva |
Venezuela | Bogota - Colombia |
Zambia | Zimbabwe - Harare |
Supported by MOD from in the UK |
|
Cape Verdi Islands |
|
Congo |
|
Gabon |
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Panama |
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Puerto Rica |
|
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential application of new geographical indications for Welsh food and drink products in Japan.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
As Secretary of State for Wales, I am proud to promote protected Welsh products, and was delighted to celebrate Single Malt Welsh Whisky on a recent visit to India.
I was also pleased to see that on 29 February 2024, 37 Geographical Indications received protected status in Japan, including famed products such as Welsh Lamb, Anglesey Sea Salt, Conwy Mussels, Pembrokeshire Early Potatoes, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, Welsh Beef, Welsh Laverbread and Welsh Wine joining the seven GIs already protected in our agreement.
The UK Government is continuing work to secure protection for further products. The GI additions have been split into two tranches running in parallel to aid processing time, and officials will continue work to finalise the completion of UK and Japanese processes for the second and final tranche.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK businesses welcome protection for iconic British food and drink in Japan, published on 27 February 2024, what is the status of the application for the provision of protected status to Isle of Man Queenies.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the Intellectual Property provisions do not extend to the Crown Dependencies. Therefore, at present there is no application for the protection of Isle of Man Queenies in Japan. Isle of Man Queenies remain fully protected in the UK.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government has taken to help increase levels of exports to Japan in the last two years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Honourable Member to the response provided to Question 12700 on 8 February.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13286 on Defence, if he will publish a list of the non-NATO countries with which the UK has (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral (i) agreements and (ii) arrangements to consult in the event of attack.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Various bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements commit the UK to consulting with non-NATO countries in relation to international security matters. The precise language that triggers any consultation under these arrangements varies. The Five Power Defence Arrangements (1971) with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore; the UK-Sweden Security Agreement (2022); and the UK-Ukraine Security Agreement (2024) all include reference to consultation in the event of attack.
Separate agreements with Australia (2013), Japan (2023), and the Republic of Korea (2023) refer to consultation on 'threats to international peace and security' (Australia) and 'important regional and global security issues' (Japan and Republic of Korea) respectively.
Asked by: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on AI safety.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I have had several such discussions including at the AI Safety Summit, during which I was pleased to meet with more than 20 Digital Ministers.
I have since engaged with my counterparts from Australia, Japan, France, the US and the EU, and I have recently met with my Canadian counterpart to sign an important new agreement on compute collaboration.
I will continue to discuss AI safety as we work towards the next Safety Summits hosted by the Republic of Korea and France.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to control the prevalence of (a) floating pennywort, (b) Himalayan balsam, (c) signal crayfish, (d) Japanese knotweed and (e) American mink.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the threats posed by invasive species and has a comprehensive Great Britain Non-native Species Strategy designed to co-ordinate action to tackle these threats.
Floating pennywort, Himalayan balsam and signal crayfish are listed as a ‘Species of Special Concern’ under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019, which means that they cannot be brought into GB, kept, bred, transported, sold, used or exchanged, allowed to reproduce, grown or cultivated, or released into the environment. This legislation is aimed at preventing further introduction and spread of these species.
Japanese knotweed and American mink are listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it an offence to allow American mink to escape into the wild, and to cause Japanese knotweed to grow in the wild.
Floating pennywort, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed control.
In partnership with the Welsh Government and Natural England, Defra is funding specialist scientists at the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), an inter-governmental, not-for-profit organisation, to conduct biological control (biocontrol) research into the use of naturally occurring, living organisms to tackle floating pennywort, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed. Biocontrol could provide a more cost- and time-effective way of managing these invasive plants as compared to manual removal.
Before any release of biocontrol agents, experts at CABI conduct extensive research and safety testing to ensure that native species will not be targeted, and then obtain formal approval to release them. This research is in its early stages, and releases at trial sites are ongoing for a weevil from Argentina, Listronotus elongatus, that targets floating pennywort; a psyllid from Japan, Aphalari itadori (a sap-sucking insect), that targets Japanese Knotweed; and a rust fungus that targets Himalayan balsam. Information about the research can be found on the CABI website and additional information can be found on the Japanese Knotweed Alliance website.
Defra is also part of a national partnership formed between government and non-government organisations that developed the Great Britain Floating Pennywort Strategy to manage this invasive plant.
Additionally, the Government run awareness raising campaigns such as ‘Be Plant Wise’ and Invasive Species Week. These campaigns provide species information and online training materials on biosecurity for industry and the general public. The Government has also developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of invasive non-native plants, and how to treat and dispose of them, which can be found on GOV.UK:
How to stop invasive non-native plants from spreading - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Signal crayfish
To support on-going management of large and damaging populations of signal crayfish in a feasible, effective and economically viable way Defra has put in place management measures for this widely spread species with containment and exclusion zones for signal crayfish. This approach prevents spread through restricting and controlling the commercial use of the species and preventing the live movement of the species entirely. This is aimed at preventing its continued spread into uninfected waterbodies in England.
American mink
Natural England are funding 5 partner-led projects (2023-25) which will be controlling mink to benefit water vole populations through the Species Recovery Grant Scheme. The total value of these projects is £479k and include projects to build on the work carried out in East Anglia to develop a mink free area stretching from Lincolnshire to the Thames
In the last financial year for which there is data, 2022/23, the Environment Agency spent £136,800 on 8 projects that controlled mink. The Environment Agency’s partners (including local authorities, Natural England, water companies and eNGO’s) contributed an extra £126,900 to those projects.
Local Action Group funding
Local Action Groups, with support from government, play an invaluable role in actively reducing and eradicating invasive non-native species. Defra is currently funding twelve Local Action Groups (LAGs) across all regions in England to control invasive species through its Local Invasive Species Management Fund. The two-year fund totalling just over £300,000 is being used by LAGs mostly to remove invasive plants including floating pennywort, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed. A small number of LAGs are conducting mink trapping and signal crayfish control. Most of these projects also involve training volunteers, awareness-raising and community engagement.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what targets his Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government set out how we would meet our commitments in the Net Zero Strategy in 2021 which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors in the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of 'Powering Up Britain'.
The UK has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, and we have grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third.
We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States. The Ministry of Justice continues to support Government’s commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2050 or sooner and we have already reduced our total carbon emissions by 28% to March 2023 (against a 2017-18 baseline).