Tag: Viscount Waverley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UN Secretary General’s remark during his visit to Algeria from 6 to 7 March that the Western Sahara is occupied”.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UN and UK consider that the status of Western Sahara is undetermined. Since he made his remark, the office of the UN Secretary General has expressed regret at the misunderstanding over the use of this word.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, the UK would have to leave the EU electronic banking system, the Single Euro Payments Area, by which funds can be transferred across the EU.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The paper ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’ set out that a vote to leave the EU would be the start, not the end, of a process. It could lead to up to a decade or more of uncertainty. One consideration for the UK Government would be how to avoid regulatory gaps in the UK’s domestic legislative framework once the EU Treaties ceased to apply. This would involve questions over how existing EU law could or should be adopted into domestic law.

At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU.

In April 2016, HM Treasury published analysis that shows that if the UK leaves the EU, the UK would be permanently poorer. The analysis estimates an annual loss of 6.2% of GDP after 15 years, which is equivalent to £4,300 per UK household. The negative impact to GDP would result in weaker tax receipts, which would be £36 billion a year lower. This is more than a third of the NHS England budget and the equivalent of 8p on the basic rate of income tax.

These estimates are based on a central scenario: leaving the EU to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with Europe, along the lines of that which took Canada seven years to negotiate.

Through a range of realistic assumptions, many of them cautious, the HM Treasury analysis produces objective and robust estimates, which are within the range of external studies.

A full assessment of the short-term implications of leaving the EU will be published in a further government document.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which trade agreements would have to be individually negotiated in the event of a vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum, broken down by region.

Lord Price

As set out in the Government’s documents to inform the debate ahead of the referendum, were the UK to leave the EU, as well as losing the UK’s guaranteed access to the Single Market, the UK would also lose the use of the EU’s free trade agreements with over 50 economies worldwide. These countries are listed on page 45 of the Government’s “Alternatives to membership: possible models for the United Kingdom outside the European Union”. This page also provides a map highlighting trade agreements in place, those under negotiation, and those currently being planned for.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what would be the residency status of UK expatriates currently living permanently in EU member states in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. No country has ever used Article 50 and this will be an area of discussion with EU member states in such a scenario.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-06-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many trade agreements are currently being negotiated by the EU, and with which countries.

Lord Price

The European Commission is actively negotiating seven bilateral trade and investment agreements. These are with the following countries: USA, Japan, Philippines, India, the Mercosur bloc, Morocco and Tunisia. The European Commission is negotiating bilateral investment agreements with Burma and China. In addition, the European Commission is also engaged in the negotiation of two “plurilateral” agreements on behalf of the EU: the Trade in Services Agreement and the Environmental Goods Agreement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, they intend to advise UK citizens living in EU member states to take citizenship in their country of residence in order to protect their legal rights.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Should the UK choose to stay in the EU, British citizens will be able to work, live and retire abroad as they do now. UK citizens and citizens from other Member States living in the UK get a range of rights from our membership of the EU. If the UK were to leave the EU, all of these rights would have to be covered in a successor arrangement. If we left the EU without agreeing what would happen to these rights, it would at the least bring them into serious question, creating difficulty for UK citizens who relied on them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-06-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which European trade agreements are awaiting ratification by the UK Parliament.

Lord Price

The EU-Southern Africa Economic Partnership Agreement and the EU-Central America Association Agreement are expected to be presented to Parliament in the near future.

The EU has concluded negotiations with the following partners and, assuming that these agreements are approved in Council as being of “mixed competence”, each will need to be approved by Parliament: Canada, Ecuador, Singapore, Vietnam, Eastern Africa, and Western Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, how they intend to change the status of domicile, if at all, in relation to UK citizens living in EU member states.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Domicile in the UK is an English common law concept which is distinct from citizenship and nationality. It is not dependent on EU law nor on the UK’s membership of the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether gas supplies to the UK are secure and will remain competitively priced following the vote to leave the EU, and what contingency plans they have in place; what percentage of UK gas supplies originate from Russia; and what assessment they have made of whether the devaluation of sterling against the rouble following the vote to leave the EU will adversely affect gas prices.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Energy security is my top priority. The Department will take the steps needed to ensure hard working families and business have the energy they need, including from overseas where this adds to the diversity and cost effectiveness of our energy supplies.

The UK has high levels of gas security from a diverse supply mix including storage facilities; pipelines from Norway, Netherlands and Belgium; and LNG terminals. This is in addition to domestic production which met over half our annual demand of 773TWh in 2014. Gas shippers in the UK purchase gas from hubs across Europe without HMG intervention in a competitive market.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, UK citizens living in EU member states would continue to be treated as all other UK citizens in the event of their death, in particular regarding their domicile status and death duties on their estates.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Domicile in the UK is an English common law concept which is distinct from citizenship and nationality. It is not dependent on EU law nor on the UK’s membership of the EU.