Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to engage with international financial service businesses on the Government's approach to Clause 37 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a Call for Proposals on 9 May 2023, seeking views on what additional metrics the regulators should publish to support scrutiny of their work embedding and advancing their new secondary growth and competitiveness objectives.
The Call for Proposals also set out the Government’s proposed approach to the exercise of the power of direction in Clause 37 of the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which is now section 39 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. It asked respondents whether they agreed with the Government’s proposed approach.
The Call for Proposals was open to all persons, including international financial services businesses, and closed on 4 July. The Treasury is currently analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
More broadly, international comparisons were considered by the Government in the design of the new secondary growth and competitiveness objectives as part of the Future Regulatory Framework Review. For example, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan have growth or competitiveness embedded in their regulatory frameworks, and this is something that the Government considered when introducing the new secondary growth and competitiveness objectives for the regulators.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Singapore on preventing capital punishments in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the longstanding policy of the UK Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. We continue to urge all countries that retain the death penalty to impose a moratorium on executions as the first step towards the abolition of the death penalty. As such, the Government raises our opposition to the death penalty with the Government of Singapore on a regular basis.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening scholarships have been awarded to each country for awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Attached is a table indicating numbers from each eligible country. For countries where we offered fewer than five places we withhold the exact number as this would contravene one of the data protection principles. In this case, Sections 40(2) and 40 (3A)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act apply.
| ODA | Country | Awards made (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
| ODA | AFGHANISTAN | 22 |
| ODA | ALBANIA | 11 |
| ODA | ALGERIA | 7 |
| ODA | ANGOLA / SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 15 |
| ODA | ARGENTINA | 15 |
| ODA | ARMENIA | 5 |
| ODA | AZERBAIJAN | 7 |
| ODA | BANGLADESH | 21 |
| ODA | BELARUS | 7 |
| ODA | BELIZE | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | BHUTAN | 5 |
| ODA | BOLIVIA | 6 |
| ODA | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 6 |
| ODA | BOTSWANA | 5 |
| ODA | BRAZIL | 46 |
| ODA | BURUNDI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | CAMBODIA | 14 |
| ODA | CAMEROON / CHAD / EQUATORIAL GUINEA / GABON | 8 |
| ODA | CHINA | 33 |
| ODA | COLOMBIA | 14 |
| ODA | CONGO, The Democratic Republic Of The/Central African Republic/Republic of Congo | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA | 6 |
| ODA | COTE D'IVOIRE | 7 |
| ODA | CUBA | 8 |
| ODA | DJIBOUTI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI | 13 |
| ODA | EAST CARIBBEAN ODA (GRENADA, ST LUCIA, DOMINICA, ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA) | 11 |
| ODA | EAST TIMOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ECUADOR | 6 |
| ODA | EGYPT | 30 |
| ODA | EL SALVADOR | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ERITREA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | Eswatini | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | ETHIOPIA | 13 |
| ODA | GAMBIA | 5 |
| ODA | GEORGIA/South Caucasus | 14 |
| ODA | GHANA / BENIN / TOGO /BURKINA FASO | 16 |
| ODA | GUATEMALA / HONDURAS | 5 |
| ODA | GUINEA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | GUYANA / SURINAME | 5 |
| ODA | INDIA | 38 |
| ODA | INDONESIA | 43 |
| ODA | IRAQ | 18 |
| ODA | JAMAICA | 13 |
| ODA | JORDAN | 8 |
| ODA | KAZAKHSTAN | 9 |
| ODA | KENYA | 33 |
| ODA | KOSOVO | 8 |
| ODA | KYRGYZ REPUBLIC | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LAOS | 13 |
| ODA | LEBANON | 10 |
| ODA | LESOTHO | 6 |
| ODA | LIBERIA | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | LIBYA | 10 |
| ODA | MADAGASCAR/COMOROS | 8 |
| ODA | MALAWI | 6 |
| ODA | MALAYSIA | 41 |
| ODA | MALDIVES | 7 |
| ODA | MALI | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | MAURITANIA | 5 |
| ODA | MAURITIUS | 7 |
| ODA | MEXICO | 34 |
| ODA | MOLDOVA | 6 |
| ODA | MONGOLIA | 17 |
| ODA | MONTENEGRO | 7 |
| ODA | MOROCCO | 11 |
| ODA | MOZAMBIQUE | 15 |
| ODA | MYANMAR | 11 |
| ODA | NAMIBIA | 14 |
| ODA | NEPAL | 11 |
| ODA | NIGER | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | NIGERIA | 39 |
| ODA | NORTH MACEDONIA | 6 |
| ODA | OVERSEAS TERRITORIES | 12 |
| ODA | PACIFIC POOL | 32 |
| ODA | PAKISTAN (DOES NOT INCLUDE FELLOWS) | 46 |
| ODA | PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 11 |
| ODA | PANAMA | 5 |
| ODA | PARAGUAY | 17 |
| ODA | PERU | 11 |
| ODA | PHILIPPINES | 23 |
| ODA | RWANDA | 8 |
| ODA | SAMOA + COOK ISLANDS | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | SENEGAL / CAPE VERDE /GUINEA-BISSAU | 8 |
| ODA | SERBIA | 7 |
| ODA | SIERRA LEONE | 6 |
| ODA | SOMALIA | 17 |
| ODA | SOUTH AFRICA | 47 |
| ODA | SOUTH SUDAN | 6 |
| ODA | SRI LANKA | 10 |
| ODA | SUDAN | 14 |
| ODA | SYRIA | 15 |
| ODA | TAJIKISTAN | Fewer than 5 |
| ODA | TANZANIA | 17 |
| ODA | THAILAND | 24 |
| ODA | TUNISIA | 6 |
| ODA | TURKEY | 20 |
| ODA | TURKMENISTAN | 6 |
| ODA | UGANDA | 21 |
| ODA | UKRAINE | 37 |
| ODA | UZBEKISTAN | 7 |
| ODA | VENEZUELA | 7 |
| ODA | VIETNAM | 23 |
| ODA | YEMEN | 9 |
| ODA | ZAMBIA | 11 |
| ODA | ZIMBABWE | 7 |
| Non-ODA | AUSTRALIA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BAHAMAS | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BARBADOS (+ ST KITTS AND NEVIS) | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | BRUNEI | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CANADA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | CHILE | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | HONG KONG | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ICELAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | ISRAEL | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | JAPAN | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | NEW ZEALAND | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SEYCHELLES | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | SINGAPORE | 5 |
| Non-ODA | SOUTH KOREA | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | TAIWAN | 5 |
| Non-ODA | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | Fewer than 5 |
| Non-ODA | URUGUAY | 10 |
| 1350 |
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government who are the Trade Envoys; to which country each Trade Envoy has been assigned; and what is the party affiliation of each Trade Envoy and the length of time in post.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are currently 36 Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys and information as below.
Country | Trade Envoy | Date of PM Appointment | ||
LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN | ||||
Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina | Mark Menzies MP (Con) | September 2016 & September 2017 for Argentina | ||
Panama, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica | Baroness Hooper of Liverpool (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Brazil | Marco Longhi MP (Con) | August 2021 | ||
AFRICA | ||||
Algeria | Lord Risby of Haverhill (Con) | November 2012 | ||
Uganda & Rwanda (watching brief for DRC) | Lord Popat (Con) | January 2016 | ||
Egypt and Cameroon | Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP (DUP) | January 2016 & August 2021 for Cameroon | ||
Nigeria | Helen Grant MP (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Kenya | Theo Clarke MP (Con) | Reappointed May 2023 | ||
South Africa & Mauritius | Andrew Selous MP(Con) | September 2017 & January 2023 for Mauritius | ||
Tanzania | Lord Walney (Non-Affiliated) | August 2021 | ||
Ghana | Baroness Hoey (Non-Affiliated) | August 2021 | ||
Tunisia & Libya | Yvonne Fovargue MP (Lab) | March 2022 | ||
Angola, Zambia & Ethiopia | Laurence Robertson MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
MIDDLE EAST | ||||
Israel | Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated) | October 2020 | ||
Iran | Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Con) | January 2016 | ||
Lebanon | Lord Risby of Haverhill (Con) | August 2019 | ||
Iraq | Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Con) | January 2014 | ||
Jordan, Kuwait & Palestine Territories | Baroness Morris of Bolton (Con) | November 2012 | ||
UAE | Gareth Thompson MP (Con) | March 2023 | ||
| ||||
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan | Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Con) | April 2016 & Kazakhstan July 2017 | ||
Mongolia | Daniel Kawczynski MP (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Ukraine | Baroness Meyer (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Turkey | Lord Hutton (Lab) | May 2022 | ||
EUROPE | ||||
Switzerland & Liechtenstein | Sir Stephen Timms MP (Lab) | August 2021 | ||
Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia) | Martin Vickers MP (Con) | October 2020 | ||
APAC | ||||
Australia | Lord Botham (Crossbench) | August 2021 | ||
Taiwan | Lord Faulkner (Lab) | January 2016 | ||
Japan | Greg Clark MP (Con) | May 2022 | ||
Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei & Vietnam | Mark Garnier MP (Con) | October 2020 & for Vietnam January 2023 | ||
Singapore | Lord Sarfraz (Con) | January 2022 | ||
Republic of Korea | Sir John Whittingdale (Con) | May 2022 | ||
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines & ASEAN | Richard Graham MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
Cambodia & Laos | Heather Wheeler MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
New Zealand | David Mundell MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
SOUTH ASIA | ||||
Bangladesh | Rushanara Ali MP (Lab) | March 2016 | ||
Sri Lanka | Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch (Crossbench) | October 2020 | ||
North America | ||||
Canada | Dame Maria Miller MP (Con) | May 2022 | ||
USA (specific focus on driving trade promotion with existing MOU states) | Sir Conor Burns MP (Con) | May 2023 | ||
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the academic achievements of schools teaching (a) Singapore maths and (b) other forms of maths teaching.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department draws on a range of published data about the effectiveness of teaching approaches, including from Ofsted, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Mastery based pedagogy in mathematics promoted by the Department is informed by approaches in Singapore and Shanghai, jurisdictions that perform highly in international tests.
A randomised controlled trial funded by the Department’s Centres for Excellence in Maths Programme, which provided mastery teaching support for GCSE resits, found that students on the full intervention made one month of additional progress in attainment compared with students in other business as usual colleges. Students from a disadvantaged background benefitted the most, the research showed they made two months of additional progress.
Combined analysis of an EEF study of ARK Multi Academy Trust’s Mathematics Mastery programme at primary and secondary also showed an average improvement equivalent to one month’s additional progress over a year of teaching.
The latest Key Stage 2 results from 2023 showed that 73% of pupils met the expected standard in mathematics, which is up from 71% in 2022. The results from the latest Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Assessment (PISA) international comparison studies showed that England performs above the international average for mathematics. Before the pandemic, England achieved its highest ever mathematics scores in the 2019 TIMSS international test for year 5 pupils and the 2018 PISA study for 15 year olds.
Ofsted’s latest mathematics subject report highlights how Maths Hubs, which are increasing the numbers of schools that are focusing on mastery pedagogy to 65% of secondary and 75% of primary schools by 2025, have contributed to notable improvements in the quality of mathematics education since 2012. Ofsted’s latest mathematics subject report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-maths/coordinating-mathematical-success-the-mathematics-subject-report.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his New Zealand counterpart on defence cooperation in the Pacific region between the UK and New Zealand.
Answered by James Heappey
New Zealand is one of our closest partners in the Indo Pacific region and a staunch supporter of Ukraine. My right hon. Friend speaks regularly to his New Zealand counterpart on a whole range of issues including Pacific security, resilience and defence cooperation between our two countries. They last spoke in Singapore in June 2023.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the aim of 90 per cent of primary school children in England achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to improving outcomes for all pupils. The Government has successfully driven up standards over the past decade. In 2010, only 68% of schools were rated good or outstanding, compared to 88% today.
Primary aged children in England came 4th out of the 43 countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, with an average score of 558. This was significantly above the International Median of 520 and significantly higher than all countries except for Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia.
Alongside this international picture, the Department continues to deliver the proposals set out in the Schools White Paper, including the headline attainment ambitions for 2030. These include 90% of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 2, and the average grade in GCSE English language and mathematics increasing from 4.5 to 5. Since publishing the White Paper, the Department has worked to deliver its commitments and has made progress towards the headline ambitions for 2030. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has affected pupils, the Department is taking robust action to drive up attainment, with evidence showing progress is being made.
At Key Stage 2 in the 2021/22 academic year, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics (combined) decreased compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 at both the expected and higher standard. Despite this, recent data from the Education Policy Institute and Rising Stars/Hodder Education shows that for primary age pupils, most year groups have either caught up in English and mathematics or are now on average 1 to 1.5 months behind pre-pandemic levels. This contrasts with studies conducted during the pandemic where learning loss in reading and mathematics was typically estimated to have peaked at around 2.5 to 3.5 months for primary age pupils.
At Key Stage 4 in the 2021/22 academic year, 49.8% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or higher in both English and mathematics. This is an increase of 6.6 percentage points (from 43.2%) in comparison with 2018/19.
The Department continues to deliver ambitious multiyear education recovery funding. This has provided almost £5 billion for teachers, staff training, tutoring and additional teaching time, as well as providing funding directly to schools. It is targeted especially at those that need the most help the most quickly. This funding is making a difference in helping pupils to catch up, with over 3 million courses started through the National Tutoring Programme since it began in November 2020. We can see that recovery is taking place, but we know that there is more to do.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the aim of increasing the average GCSE grade at Key Stage 4 in English language and maths from 4.5 to 5.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to improving outcomes for all pupils. The Government has successfully driven up standards over the past decade. In 2010, only 68% of schools were rated good or outstanding, compared to 88% today.
Primary aged children in England came 4th out of the 43 countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, with an average score of 558. This was significantly above the International Median of 520 and significantly higher than all countries except for Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia.
Alongside this international picture, the Department continues to deliver the proposals set out in the Schools White Paper, including the headline attainment ambitions for 2030. These include 90% of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 2, and the average grade in GCSE English language and mathematics increasing from 4.5 to 5. Since publishing the White Paper, the Department has worked to deliver its commitments and has made progress towards the headline ambitions for 2030. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has affected pupils, the Department is taking robust action to drive up attainment, with evidence showing progress is being made.
At Key Stage 2 in the 2021/22 academic year, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics (combined) decreased compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 at both the expected and higher standard. Despite this, recent data from the Education Policy Institute and Rising Stars/Hodder Education shows that for primary age pupils, most year groups have either caught up in English and mathematics or are now on average 1 to 1.5 months behind pre-pandemic levels. This contrasts with studies conducted during the pandemic where learning loss in reading and mathematics was typically estimated to have peaked at around 2.5 to 3.5 months for primary age pupils.
At Key Stage 4 in the 2021/22 academic year, 49.8% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or higher in both English and mathematics. This is an increase of 6.6 percentage points (from 43.2%) in comparison with 2018/19.
The Department continues to deliver ambitious multiyear education recovery funding. This has provided almost £5 billion for teachers, staff training, tutoring and additional teaching time, as well as providing funding directly to schools. It is targeted especially at those that need the most help the most quickly. This funding is making a difference in helping pupils to catch up, with over 3 million courses started through the National Tutoring Programme since it began in November 2020. We can see that recovery is taking place, but we know that there is more to do.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing British National (Overseas) passport holders to use the same queue as UK, EU, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and US passport holders at the UK Border.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government is committed to delivering a border experience which will be contactless for the majority of people. As we do so, eligibility to seek leave to enter the UK without the need for manual processing will continue to be regularly reviewed.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support food producers from (a) Essex and (b) the UK to increase exports of produce.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are delivering our commitment to boost UK exports, as part of the Government’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ export strategy, a 12-point plan to help UK businesses hit £1 trillion in exports. We want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British.
We have an ambitious programme of negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) which is delivering results. On 31 May the UK’s first new FTAs with Australia and New Zealand came into force, opening up markets for UK producers across all products. On 31 March the Government substantially concluded negotiations on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an FTA including 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. This trade deal will see new export opportunities for food producers including for exporters of dairy products, including cheese and butter, having greater access to lower tariffs in Canada, Japan, and Mexico, and exporters of chocolate will benefit from zero tariffs on exports to Mexico and Malaysia.
The Prime Minister recently announced a food and drink export package to boost export capability and deliver on growing demand for our high-quality UK produce across the world. This includes a further expansion of our global agrifood and drink counsellor network who negotiate removal of trade barriers in growing global markets. The package also includes investments of £2 million in global trade shows and missions, promotion through the £1.6 million GREAT food and drink campaign, and bespoke support for seafood (£1 million) and dairy exports (£1 million).
To further support food producers export, we have held a range of national and regional food summits with dedicated SME workshops to highlight export opportunities and how to access support.