Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Wassenaar Arrangement in controlling the dual-use export of (a) artificial intelligence, (b) quantum computing, (c) biometric tools and data and (d) intangible technology transfers.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a long-established multilateral export control regime which operates by consensus. It includes the majority of states producing these advanced technologies and draws on expertise from all members to develop control lists, which are updated annually. These lists are used by participating states to implement their export controls and, as the Wassenaar Arrangement sets the global standard for good practice, non-member states also incorporate the control lists into their domestic legislation.
The UK is an active member of the Wassenaar Arrangement and other multilateral export control regimes. We submit and review proposals related to these advanced technologies, share best practice, and participate in outreach to non-member states. We are co-ordinating with G7 and other partners to strengthen export controls, including to update multilateral export control regime lists to keep pace with rapid technological developments.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking diplomatic steps to reform (a) the Wassenaar Arrangement and (b) other export control and non-proliferation agreements.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a long-established multilateral export control regime which operates by consensus. It includes the majority of states producing these advanced technologies and draws on expertise from all members to develop control lists, which are updated annually. These lists are used by participating states to implement their export controls and, as the Wassenaar Arrangement sets the global standard for good practice, non-member states also incorporate the control lists into their domestic legislation.
The UK is an active member of the Wassenaar Arrangement and other multilateral export control regimes. We submit and review proposals related to these advanced technologies, share best practice, and participate in outreach to non-member states. We are co-ordinating with G7 and other partners to strengthen export controls, including to update multilateral export control regime lists to keep pace with rapid technological developments.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to extend funding for the (a) rapid charging fund and (b) Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund beyond April 2025.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund is providing £381 million funding to support local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging for drivers without off-street parking.
On the 6 December, a £70m pilot for the Rapid Charging Fund opened for applications, focused on motorway service areas in England. Alongside the pilot, a consultation on the main fund was also launched. Evidence gathered from the consultation will be used alongside the learning from the RCF pilot in the development of the RCF main fund. The RCF main fund will open in due course.
Government will continue to assess whether further support is required to ensure the continued rollout of EV infrastructure.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether military aero-engines have been exported to (a) Elbit subsidiaries and (b) companies owned by Elbit Systems Ltd in Israel.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Our records show that since 2008 and up to 30 June 2023, which is the date of the Government’s most recent Official Statistics release on export licensing decisions, we have not issued an export licence to ‘Elbit Systems UK’ to export aero-engines for military use.
Our records also show that as at 30 June 2023, we had granted one temporary Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) to export military aero-engines to ‘Elbit Systems Limited’ in Israel.
We do not hold a comprehensive list of all of the subsidiaries or companies owned by Elbit Systems Limited.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the report on the study commissioned his Department on the inclusion of electrification in the renewable transport fuel obligation.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Last year the Department commissioned independent research into potential regulation-based options that may be required to support the continued rollout of public electric vehicle chargepoints from mid-2020s, including their opportunities, risks and likely impact. This research is still in progress.
Asked by: Damian Green (Conservative - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Terms of Reference for the BBC Funding Review Panel allow the Panel to consider all the funding options contained in the 6th report of the DCMS Select Committee of session 2019-21, and in the annex to that report.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Terms of Reference for the BBC Funding Model Review set out that the Government wants the BBC to continue to succeed as a Public Service Broadcaster long into the future, providing high quality public service content on a universal basis.
As the Terms of Reference make clear, the review will be looking at a range of models for funding the BBC to ensure it is fair to licence fee payers, sustainable for the long term and supports the BBC’s vital role in growing the creative industries. This will include looking at options to reform the licence fee, and how the BBC can increase its commercial revenues. Given pressure on household incomes, the Secretary of State has explicitly ruled out this review looking at creating any new taxes.
The findings of the review will support the Government’s views on the future funding of the BBC. Any final decision on reforming the BBC’s funding model would be taken at Charter Review.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with the Cabinet Secretary on the contents of a response to the correspondence sent by the Civil Service Sex Equality and Equity Network in October 2023 on Civil Service impartiality.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place between Cabinet ministers and officials is not normally shared publicly. However, as mentioned in the Minister’s speech at the Institute for Government on 23 January 2024, the Cabinet Office will be introducing new impartiality guidance which will support Civil Servants to remain objective and impartial when engaging in diversity and inclusion work.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the contract awarded by her Department to Ethypharm UK Ltd on 27 January 2022 for the storage and management of the Department's Naloxone buffer stock, how many packs of Naloxone were distributed from the buffer stock for use by patients in the UK in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23, and (c) 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has held discussions with UK Export Finance on (a) the closure of the ethanol plant at Grangemouth and (b) the proposed INEOS plant in Antwerp.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK Export Finance and the Department for Business and Trade are strategically and operationally aligned, and routinely share relevant information across all business areas.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 19719 on INEOS: Belgium, how many (a) ethanol and (b) ethanol-related products will be produced at the new Ineos site in Antwerp.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The INEOS Project One plant will not be producing ethanol or ethanol related products.