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964591

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Subsidies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans as a result of extreme weather conditions to instruct the Rural Payments Agency to make advance payments or bridging loans to farmers who will not have received their 2018 BPS by 31 December 2018.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	169357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2018 answer text <p>The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is fully focussed on getting Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2018 payments issued promptly. Given the prescriptive EU requirements in making advance payments, RPA will concentrate on making payments from the opening of the payment window in December. In addition we are reviewing options, such as bringing forward bridging payments, for those BPS claimants who will not have received their BPS 2018 payments in December.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 06/09/2018 10:30:54 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

964592

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Grazing Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will grant farmers flexibility in allowing livestock to graze land which is not normally permitted for grazing because of the short supply of bedding and grazing.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	169358
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2018 answer text <p>Three variations or derogations from EU law have been granted or are under active discussion in Brussels in relation to grazing. First, some member states have secured permission to allow the grazing of Ecological Focus Area (EFA) Fallow Land. This derogation is not relevant in England as we already allow the grazing of such land after 1 July each year.</p><p> </p><p>The UK was the first Member State to raise a concern with the European Commission over the difficulties farmers faced in establishing EFA catch crops by the required date of 20 August. Other Member States agreed with us and the Commission agreed that “force majeure” should apply in these circumstances, so we could waive any penalties for farmers for non-compliance with EU law.</p><p> </p><p>The third possibility relates to the small areas of land that have been declared as EFA Winter Cover Crops for the purposes of the EU Greening requirements. This green cover must be present from 1 October to at least 15 January and ordinarily must not be grazed. Because of the extreme weather conditions, the EU is considering waiving that rule for 2018 in suitably justified areas, and we have asked that England be listed amongst those countries eligible for this derogation. The change that we expect to secure this week will allow for grass and other herbaceous forage to be grown in those areas, rather than the usual restrictive list of plant species, and for those areas to be grazed.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 06/09/2018 16:59:17 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

964593

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agricultural Products: Republic of Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Irish Government on its plans to reintroduce a subsidy on the import of forage and bedding; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such a subsidy on the supply of forage and bedding within the UK.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	169359
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2018 answer text <p>Farmers in the UK, Ireland and across northern Europe have experienced a difficult time this year with the hot, dry weather. The impacts are likely to be most severely felt by the grazing livestock due to the shortage of grass.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It is clear that the main impact of the recent drought conditions is likely to be felt by livestock farmers facing a shortage of fodder and that the full extent of the impacts may not be realised until later in the year. We have prioritised practical solutions to help farmers increase access to fodder and bedding both now and in the coming months. These actions will help farmers to limit the impact of extra feed costs by allocating land to forage growth and grazing, but we will keep the situation under review.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Particular measures the Government has taken to help farmers are:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li><p>We have clarified that English farmers, unlike farmers in other EU countries where derogations have been sought, have been able to use fallow land for grazing since 1 July. That is because our legislation reflects what we consider to be the minimum EU requirement.</p><p> </p></li><li><p>We were the first Member State to raise a concern with the Commission to establish Ecological Focus Area (EFA) catch crops by 20 August: Other Member States agreed with us and the Commission agreed that “force majeure” would apply in these circumstances, so we could waive penalties for farmers in this situation.</p><p> </p></li><li><p>We are seeking a derogation from the requirement to sow only certain seed types which are unpalatable to livestock in EFA areas as catch crop. The derogation we expect to secure this week will allow for grass and herbaceous forage to be grown in those areas, and those areas to be grazed.</p><p> </p></li><li><p>On Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and forestry legacy agreements farmers are able to ask Natural England to agree a temporary variation to the agreement conditions, either as an Environmental Stewardship Derogation (to date, over 100 have been granted) or a Countryside Stewardship Minor and Temporary Adjustment (over 30 have so far been granted).</p></li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I will monitor whether the fodder import scheme that has been introduced in Ireland has an appreciable effect on supplies of fodder and bedding within the UK. We have also made the point to the European Commission that whilst the UK is committed to working to identify appropriate responses to this year’s weather impacts, these should not interfere with the normal functioning of the market or obscure the focus of farmers in mitigating weather impacts.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice grouped question UIN 170407 170412 170415 question first answered 06/09/2018 16:58:52 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

964649

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Medical Treatments: Innovation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on establishing an Accelerated Access Collaborative to manage the new accelerated access pathway.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	169360
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) has been successfully established, meeting for the first time in January 2018 and agreeing terms of reference and ways of working. Lord Darzi is the new chair of the AAC, replacing Sir Andrew Witty, who stood down to avoid any conflict of interest with his new role as CEO of Optum. We expect that the Accelerated Access Pathway will launch at the next meeting of the AAC, which will be in the autumn.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 11/09/2018 14:37:19 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

964650

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Medical Treatments: Innovation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the accelerated access pathway is planned to begin designating breakthrough products.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	169361
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The Accelerated Access Collaborative will meet this autumn to launch the Accelerated Access Pathway and the first group of products will be part of their discussions.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 11/09/2018 14:35:39 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

964651

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Medical Treatments: Innovation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what involvement his Department has had in the establishment of the new accelerated access pathway.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	169362
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The establishment of the pathway has been led by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC), working with industry and patients. The establishment of the AAC has been supported by the Office for Life Sciences, which is a joint unit between both the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). A member of the BEIS departmental board sits on the AAC.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 11/09/2018 14:24:44 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

942622

registered interest
date	16/07/2018
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the gold reserves of the Bank of England were on 30 June (a) 1998, (b) 2008 and (c) 2018.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	164422
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The Bank of England does not own any gold reserves of its own, except for two bars held for display at the Bank of England Museum. However, the Bank provides safe custody for the UK's gold reserves and for other customers. It has only started recently publishing the weight of all the gold in its custody on its website, which includes data back to 2011. On 30 June 2018, it held 166,516,000 fine troy ounces of gold. There is no equivalent data available for 1998 and 2008.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 15/05/2019 17:33:50 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

934159

registered interest
date	03/07/2018
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors: Decommissioning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of generating capacity after the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors are decommissioned in 2023.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	160206
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2018 answer text <p>The Capacity Market is securing the capacity required to meet peak electricity demand through auctions held four and one year ahead of delivery. It supports technically reliable existing plant to remain in the market and, as coal and other ageing plant retire, it strengthens incentives for new plant to be financed and built.</p><p> </p><p>The Capacity Market has already secured over 5.4GW of new build capacity for delivery between 2018/19 and 2021/22. Alongside traditional gas generation, significant levels of alternative, innovative new capacity, such as demand-side response (DSR) and battery storage, has been brought forward. This wide range of new resources is helping deliver the security, reliability and flexibility that the country needs.</p><p> </p><p>Other measures being taken to ensure the security of electricity supply include the broadening of the UK’s generation base through the deployment of new nuclear generation, with Hinkley Point C under construction, and offshore wind.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 10/07/2018 15:14:21 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

934160

registered interest
date	03/07/2018
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Nuclear Power: Decommissioning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential for UK businesses to export nuclear decommissioning expertise as a result of the French Government's decision to decommission 17 nuclear reactors by 2025.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	160207
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2018 answer text <p>Services are a vitally important part of the UK economy and UK expertise across all sectors are in high demand around the world. In January, the UK and French Governments signed a Declaration of Intent to enhance collaboration in civil nuclear decommissioning and waste management in France, the UK and potentially third countries.</p><p>The Department for International Trade, together with partners across HMG, is working closely with the French Government and the UK and French private sector to identify decommissioning opportunities in our respective civil nuclear markets.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 11/07/2018 15:05:44 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

934161

registered interest
date	03/07/2018
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Euratom Supply Agency: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on contracts held by UK businesses under the Euratom Supply Agency.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	160208
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2018 answer text <p>Under Euratom Treaty arrangements, businesses based in Euratom Member States are required to seek approval from the Euratom Supply Agency to conclude contracts for the supply of nuclear materials. When the UK leaves the Euratom Community, UK businesses will only be subject to these arrangements for supply contracts involving businesses in a Euratom Member State. The EU position is that, in a “no deal” scenario, these contracts would require re-approval once the UK is no longer part of the Euratom Community, as set out in the EU’s <em>Notice to Stakeholders</em> published on 28 March 2018[1].</p><p> </p><p>The UK has raised this as a priority issue with the European Commission, as set out in the UK’s position paper on <em>Nuclear materials and safeguards issues</em>, published on 13 July 2017[2]. This remains an issue of concern to the nuclear industry in both the UK and in the wider EU. There are positive signs that the Commission are seeking ways to address the problem, and the UK will continue to press for a solution that does not lead to any additional costs or inconvenience to industry.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/euratom_en" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/euratom_en</a></p><p>[2] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-materials-and-safeguards-issues-position-paper" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-materials-and-safeguards-issues-position-paper</a></p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 10/07/2018 15:14:57 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy