Written questions by Gethins.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on global price fluctuations in heating oil resulting from conflict in the Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary and I have had no discussions with our international counterparts on global oil price fluctuations caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

With reference to oral contribution of 3 December 2024 by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, if she will make an overall estimate of the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU.

No. The Government is focussed on resetting the relationship with the EU, which will support economic growth, the central mission of the Government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the British Council has adequate funding to effectively promote (a) Scottish and (b) wider UK (i) education and (ii) arts.

As an Arms Length Body, the British Council is operationally independent. They set out their plans in their Annual Corporate Plan. The Government is committed to a successful British Council that is financially stable. Our funding to the British Council underlines our support. FCDO will provide the British Council with £162.5 million Grant-in-Aid in 2024/25. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Home Office English Language Testing services on the British Council’s (a) finances and (b) ability to promote Scottish (i) further and (ii) higher education overseas.

My officials will follow up with the British Council on these points. The British Council is operationally independent from Government; its priorities, programmes and operations are approved by its Board of Trustees.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 15757 on Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential financial impact of the UK leaving the EU on the agri-food sector.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 4 December 2024, UIN 15757. Although the Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows zero tariffs and zero quota trade, leaving the EU single market and customs union had an impact on the export of agri-food products, as have other changes in trade policy such as new Free Trade Agreements with other countries, and global shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Agri-food trade with the EU has fallen since 2018 in real terms (after adjusting for trade inflation) by 20% (exports) and 11% (imports). However, there is difficulty separating out the impact of the UK leaving the EU from those other factors. The majority of UK agri-food exports were still to EU countries in 2023, 57% (£14 billion). We are working to reset our relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to UK-EU trade. We will seek to negotiate a veterinary/sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. We have been clear that our trading relationship can be improved but we are not rejoining the single market or customs union, and we will not return to freedom of movement.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports of the Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan being shelled by Rapid Support Forces.

The UK is appalled by recent reports of the Rapid Support Forces' indiscriminate shelling of Zamzam camp, the largest camp for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Sudan. There are an estimated 500,000 people living in Zamzam camp, where famine was declared by The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Committee in August. The warring parties must fulfil the commitments they made in Jeddah to prevent harm to civilians and abide by International Humanitarian Law. The UK is in touch with partners to ensure we support the response, including to those who may be displaced from the camp by the violence. The UK is one of the biggest supporters to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which provides support to local responders including the Emergency Response Rooms.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of leaving the EU on public finances.

I refer the Hon. member to my answer to his question on this issue during the Topical Questions section of HMT orals today.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what events to mark St Andrew's day are taking place in UK embassies.

UK missions facilitate St Andrews's Day celebrations in a range of innovative ways, tailoring their support to both host-nation and Scottish diaspora interests. 2024 examples include: the Paris Embassy hosting a Reception, attended by the Deputy First Minister of Scotland; the Ottawa High Commission jointly hosting a reception with Scottish Government colleagues; and in Kyiv, activities highlighting Ukraine-Scotland connections - including their sharing St Andrew as the national patron saint. In Singapore, FCDO officials will support the Secretary of State for Scotland's attendance as guest of honour at an event attended by 450 guests from the business and Scottish diaspora community.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU on touring musicians.

We fully recognise the scale of challenges facing professionals wishing to tour in Europe. Many have concluded it is simply not economically viable or logistically possible to tour in Europe. That denies European audiences the opportunity to hear British artists and it denies artists a chance to build their career. That is why we have pledged to do everything we can to help our touring artists.We are already working collaboratively with the live music sector to address these key issues for our brilliant musicians, artists and their support staff and are engaging with the EU and EU Member States, with a view to improving arrangements for touring across the European continent without seeing a return to free movement. This is a priority for the whole ministerial team, the department and the government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's publication entitled Georgia, Parliamentary Elections, 26 October 2024: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, published on 25 October 2024.

I fully endorse the findings of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights report. I made this clear in my statement of 27 October, and our Embassy in Tbilisi reiterated our concerns regarding the need to transparently and thoroughly investigate allegations of electoral violations in a further public statement on 25 November. The new Georgian Government must ensure that these concerns are addressed, and return to a trajectory inline with the democratic values expected of an aspirant NATO member.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help counter disinformation in Moldova.

As the Foreign Secretary made clear during his visit to Moldova on 20 November, the UK is committed to supporting Moldova's democratic resilience in the face of Russian hybrid aggression. During my visit to Chisinau on 16-17 September, I met President Sandu, Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi and Defence Minister Nosatii to reaffirm the UK's steadfast support. This year alone, the UK is providing £34 million of humanitarian, development and defence support to Moldova, including £6.3 million through the Good Governance Fund to strengthen Moldova's capacity to respond to internal and external threats including information threats.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU (a) Single Market and (b) Customs Union on the export of agri-food products from the UK to the EU.

This Government cares deeply about the trading relationship with the European Union; The Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) underpin relations between the UK and the EU. Although the TCA allows zero tariffs and zero quota trade, leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union had an impact on the export of agri-food products, as have other changes in trade policy such as new Free Trade Agreements with other countries, and global shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic. We are working to reset our relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to UK-EU trade. We will seek to negotiate a veterinary/SPS agreement to boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. We have been clear that our trading relationship can be improved but we are not rejoining the single market or customs union, and we will not return to freedom of movement.

What recent progress his Department has made on assessing the export application for Ukraine with ECO reference SIE2024/004708 and SPIRE document reference 4388747, submitted on 14 May 2024; and whether any further steps are required to bring this application to conclusion.

We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC). We are reviewing this case with other government departments and we will conclude our assessment once we receive that advice.

Innovation and Technology, what steps the UK Space Agency to help develop high-skilled jobs in the space sector; and whether the agency supports (a) apprenticeships and (b) development programmes.

The UK Space Agency Education and Future Workforce programme aims to build and strengthen a diverse workforce. This includes formal and informal educational activities, as well as specific support for developing a skilled workforce. Development programmes include the Space Placements in Industry internship programme, where 119 students were placed in UK space organisations in Summer 2024, alongside scholarship funding and the £2.1m Training Programmes Fund to address known skills gaps in the sector.In July 2023, the Department for Education launched the Level 6 space degree apprenticeship, developed by a trailblazer group of space industry experts and building on the Level 4 space engineering technician apprenticeship launched in August 2020.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Colombian counterpart on the UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty.

The UK has consistently been one of the leading international investors in Colombia. UK investors are protected by the Bilateral Investment Treaty and use it to inform their investment decisions. Since the formation of the new government, FCDO and DBT officials have discussed the content and provisions of the Treaty with the Colombian Government, including impact on various sectors. The Colombian Government has committed to working with us to ensure the agreement can continue to deliver benefits for UK businesses and Colombia.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the investor-state dispute settlement measures in the Colombia-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty on the upholding of (a) environmental and (b) human rights protections in Colombia.

I refer the Hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry to my response to Question 12968 on 12th November 2024: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-06/12968

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to support the Scottish space sector; and whether his Department provides support for UK entities bidding for European Space Agency contracts.

From 2018-2025, the UK Space Agency (UKSA) will have enabled and invested ~£126 million in Scotland through national programmes and European Space Agency (ESA) funding, including funding to establish launch services, co-funding for Space Scotland, and funding via the Space Cluster Infrastructure Fund to expand access to key engineering infrastructure.The UKSA supports the UK sector in bidding for ESA contracts through initiatives including ESA 101 courses and Bid Writing Workshops. Over 1,000 individuals from 558 different organisations have signed up to take part, equipping them with skills to enhance their ESA bidding success.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK's commitments under investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms on (a) environmental and (b) human rights protections in partner countries.

The UK is party to 83 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that contain Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). ISDS provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment and human rights.

Whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on incentivising migrants to work in key industries in Scotland.

I have had frequent discussions with the Deputy First Minister of Scotland and have been clear that immigration should not be used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home. We value the important contribution made by workers from overseas, but we need to consider issues in the round, and work with industries to ensure they can attract the workforces they need for the future. To achieve this we are strengthening the Migration Advisory Committee, and establishing a framework for joint working with skills bodies across the UK, the Industrial Strategy Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of leaving the EU on the music industry.

Since the UK’s departure from the EU, DCMS hase closely monitored the sector's adaptation, particularly regarding touring. This Government is working closely with the music industry, and with guidance and support to help artists and professionals navigate the challenges that have emerged.We will engage with the EU and EU Member States, and explore how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent without seeing a return to free movement. Our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to thrive on the global stage, including in the EU.