Tag: Grant Shapps

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will eliminate the import tariffs on canned goods from developing nations when the UK has left the EU.

Greg Hands

The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy as the UK prepares to leave the EU. This offers us an opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world: to negotiate and design, in time, our own trade arrangements. The UK remains committed to ensuring developing countries can reduce poverty through trading opportunities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what independent body or bodies he plans will judge phase one of the Small Modular Reactor Competition.

Jesse Norman

Phase One has not involved any evaluation or assessment of Small Modular Reactor proposals, beyond reviewing applicants against the published eligibility criteria, and therefore no independent bodies have been or will be making decisions during Phase One.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to relax rules on the use of animal growth hormones in beef farming once the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice

There are no plans to relax rules on the use of hormones for the purposes of growth promotion, following the UK’s exit from the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what method and criteria were used to select the Board of HS2 Ltd.

Andrew Jones

All Non-Executive members including the Non-Executive Chair of the HS2 Ltd Board are appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport. All Executive Members of the HS2 Ltd Board are appointed by HS2 Ltd on the delegated authority from the Secretary of State. The Chief Executive Officer of the HS2 Ltd Board is appointed by the Chair of HS2 Ltd.

All Ministerial appointments, extensions and exemptions to the HS2 Ltd Board, come under the remit of the Office for Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). They are made using the process from the Commissioner’s Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies. The Commissioner may, in exceptional circumstances, agree that Departments may depart from this Code where he believes that this is justified in the public interest.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to substitute funding to start-up loan schemes previously funded completely or partly by EU programmes after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr David Gauke

As set out by the Chancellor, the Treasury will guarantee funding for structural and investment fund projects and funding secured through direct bids to the European Commission, even after the UK leaves the EU. This is where the funding provides strong value for money and is in line with domestic strategic priorities. These include projects signed after Autumn Statement and before we leave the EU.

Alongside this funding, the Start-Up loan programme, funded by the UK government and overseen by the British Business Bank (BBB), has supported over 39,500 entrepreneurs to set up their own business and facilitated loans of over £230m.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adding a five years sunset clause to the proposed Great Repeal Bill governing the expiry of EU legislation which has entered the statute book.

Mr David Jones

The Government has committed to introducing a Bill in the next parliamentary session which will repeal the European Communities Act 1972. The principle of the Bill is about creating legal certainty for the UK on exit day and we will set out its content in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the date that the first phase of High Speed 2 will be completed and open to the public.

Andrew Jones

The hybrid Bill for HS2 Phase One is proceeding through Parliament and we are aiming to achieve Royal Assent by the end of 2016, with construction starting in 2017 and the first trains running by the end of 2026.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on the waiver of the five-year British citizenship requirement for Commonwealth recruits to military support roles.

Mike Penning

On 12 May 2016, the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Penny Mordaunt) made a written ministerial statement (HCWS 726) which announced that the five year UK residency requirement was being waived to allow for 200 Commonwealth citizens per annum to be recruited to fill a limited number of roles in the Regular Armed Forces which require specialist skills. The limit and the list of roles that can be filled under these arrangements were agreed in consultation with the Home Office. Those Commonwealth citizens who do not have the required skills to fill one of the 200 specialist roles are still required to meet the five year UK residency requirement.

Since the written statement, some 9,500 applications for specialist roles have been received from Commonwealth citizens. Many applicants will be rejected for not meeting the relevant eligibility criteria, or will fail the various stages of the selection process. The numbers who are enlisted and then successfully complete the training to fill one of these roles will therefore not exceed the 200 per annum limit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any assessment has been made of the effect of driverless vehicles on future demand for extra rail capacity.

Mr John Hayes

There is currently no evidence linking driverless vehicles and future demand for rail.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing Government tax incentives in the tech start-up sector in order to reduce the number of companies potentially unable to attract private investment after tax reliefs expire.

Jane Ellison

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts scheme provide tax reliefs to encourage individuals to invest in early stage, higher risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance. The government has no plans to withdraw these tax reliefs.