Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16051, aside from Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which of the 60 other non-EU countries with which the UK has signed continuity trade agreements are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16052, aside from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, which of the 47 other Commonwealth nations are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the Free Trade Agreement between the UK and Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland agreed on 8 July 2021 for businesses in (a) Morley and Outwood constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
This free trade agreement – the most advanced Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein have ever signed – is tailored for the British economy. It contains gold standard provisions in digital trade, mobile roaming, and business travel, will reduce tariffs, and offers new duty-free quotas on exports of high-quality British food and farm products.
In 2020, there were 1,015 and 329 businesses in Yorkshire and Humber that exported goods to Norway and Iceland respectively. This deal is designed to make it easier for even more businesses in Morley and Outwood, West Yorkshire and across the United Kingdom to export to Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, saving them time and money.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support trade in services with EU countries.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses to adjust to our new relationship with the European Union. We continue to signpost businesses and trade associations to information on how to best adapt to the changes through a variety of means.
We have published GOV.UK guidance to support businesses providing services to the EU, EEA and Switzerland. This includes enhanced guidance on Member States’ immigration systems providing UK business travellers with a better understanding of visa and work permit requirements (www.gov.uk/government/collections/travelling-to-the-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-or-liechtenstein-for-work) and a tool which UK businesses can use to check for relevant reservations as they sell services to customers in EU member states (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-eu-trade-and-cooperation-agreement-reservations).
We will continue to work closely with businesses, including with the Professional Business Services sector, to gather insights and to ensure the Government continues to provide businesses with the support they need in our new trading relationship with the EU.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether EU nationals living in the UK before 31 December 2020 and who go on to be granted settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme will be liable for chargeable healthcare as set out in NHS Charging Regulations guidance or whether they are entitled to free healthcare.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Citizens of a European Union country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland and their family members who were lawfully residing in the United Kingdom by 31 December 2020 will keep their right to healthcare on the same basis as UK residents, as long as they meet the ordinary residence test. From 1 July 2021, they must have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). These rights will be subject to any future domestic policy changes which apply to UK nationals.
An individual that has made an application to the EUSS will be considered non-chargeable from the date of their application until an outcome is determined by the Home Office. An individual who is eligible to apply to the EUSS but who has not submitted an application by 30 June 2021 will be chargeable. If they receive and pay for relevant services and then later make a late application which is granted, they will not be refunded for the earlier treatment.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with their Swiss counterparts on their decision to end negotiations on a bilateral agreement with the EU.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) engages with Swiss and Liechtenstein counterparts on a regular basis on the full range of bilateral interests, including our respective EU relations. We have spoken with officials from both countries following Switzerland's decision to end negotiations with the EU towards a proposed Institutional Framework Agreement.
Switzerland has emphasised the shared Swiss-EU interest in safeguarding existing bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU, and has proposed a political dialogue with the EU to develop new strands of future cooperation. We note that Liechtenstein has a different relationship with the EU to that of Switzerland, due to Liechtenstein's membership of the European Economic Area (EEA). We will continue to monitor any impact on Liechtenstein as a result of the Swiss decision to end negotiations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with their counterparts in Lichtenstein on the potential effect on that nation of Switzerland ending negotiations for a bilateral agreement with the EU.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) engages with Swiss and Liechtenstein counterparts on a regular basis on the full range of bilateral interests, including our respective EU relations. We have spoken with officials from both countries following Switzerland's decision to end negotiations with the EU towards a proposed Institutional Framework Agreement.
Switzerland has emphasised the shared Swiss-EU interest in safeguarding existing bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU, and has proposed a political dialogue with the EU to develop new strands of future cooperation. We note that Liechtenstein has a different relationship with the EU to that of Switzerland, due to Liechtenstein's membership of the European Economic Area (EEA). We will continue to monitor any impact on Liechtenstein as a result of the Swiss decision to end negotiations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with their Swiss counterparts on whether they made an assessment of the potential effect of ending negotiations for a bilateral agreement on Liechtenstein.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) engages with Swiss and Liechtenstein counterparts on a regular basis on the full range of bilateral interests, including our respective EU relations. We have spoken with officials from both countries following Switzerland's decision to end negotiations with the EU towards a proposed Institutional Framework Agreement.
Switzerland has emphasised the shared Swiss-EU interest in safeguarding existing bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU, and has proposed a political dialogue with the EU to develop new strands of future cooperation. We note that Liechtenstein has a different relationship with the EU to that of Switzerland, due to Liechtenstein's membership of the European Economic Area (EEA). We will continue to monitor any impact on Liechtenstein as a result of the Swiss decision to end negotiations.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the new trade deal agreed with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein includes Mode 4 provisions that allow musicians and other performing artists and their crews to undertake professional work on a reciprocal basis.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The new trade deal agreed in principle with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein includes provisions for British musicians and performers, who will be able to perform in all three countries, and tour in Norway for up to 90 days every six months without a permit.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value of UK cod sales to Norway was in the most recent period for which that information is available; and what tariff will be imposed on future such sales under the terms of the new free trade agreement recently agreed between the UK and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein provide a preferential rate of 0% for cod imports from Britain. In 2020, we exported approximately £1 million (382 tons) of cod to Norway. British exporters of cod will not face tariff barriers in future trade with any of these countries.