Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 26 February (HL1663), what progress they have made on the measures announced in June 2019 to strengthen the role of the Small Business Commissioner.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government is fully committed on fulfilling its manifesto commitment to strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner. We still plan to consult on extending those powers, to allow the Commissioner to advocate for and support small businesses, as soon as we are able to do so.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they estimate the construction of Sizewell C nuclear power station will begin; and what funding model will be used for that construction.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

It is for individual developers to consider milestones, such as estimates of when construction will commence. Any funding model would be agreed as part of a negotiation, should the Government enter into one.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that all firms based in, and selling products in, the UK comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in conducting due diligence on the impact of the products they sell.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government supports the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - the authoritative, voluntary international framework, which encourages businesses to conduct due diligence as part of their approaches to protecting human rights. The Government also drives transparency from our businesses to hold them to account on human rights. UK listed companies cover relevant human rights issues as part of their annual corporate reporting and our large businesses publish supply chain transparency statements according to the Modern Slavery Act, including on due diligence approaches where these are followed. In May, the Government published two policy papers which provide an update on what the Government has done to implement the UN Guiding Principles and to give an overview of how each government department contributes to this work.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to pause consideration of the application by EDF to construct the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station at the end of the pre-examination stage, until those who are unable to take part in a virtual examination as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic may take part in an open examination.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Examining Authority at the Planning Inspectorate will proceed with its consideration of EDF’s application in line with the published guidance on current procedures for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. The Planning Inspectorate is considering ways in which the process can be conducted to ensure that Interested Parties are able to take part. There are currently no plans to pause the application at the end of the pre-examination stage. Further information is available at the GOV.UK website.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place between the Pre Pack Pool and the Insolvency service in (1) 2019, and (2) 2020; and what subjects were discussed.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

Officials from the Insolvency Service attended three meetings of the Pre-Pack Pool Oversight Group in 2019 and one meeting so far in 2020. The Pre-Pack Pool Oversight Group includes representatives from the Pre-Pack Pool. The meetings attended by officials discussed the operation of the Pre-Pack Pool and the Insolvency Service’s review of voluntary measures to reform pre-pack sales in administration.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support the Pre Pack Pool has received from the Insolvency Service; and what plans they have, if any, to enhance this support.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Pre-Pack Pool’s operation is overseen by the Pre-Pack Pool Oversight Group, which comprises representatives from the creditor community, the insolvency profession, insolvency regulators and officials from the Insolvency Service. The Insolvency Service also provides secretariat support to the Oversight Group.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each of the pre-pack administrations referred to the Pre Pack Pool since the beginning of February, what was the amount owed to unsecured creditors.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

Applications to the Pre-Pack Pool are made in confidence and the Insolvency Service does not hold this information. However, if a company subsequently enters administration, details of amounts owed to unsecured creditors must be set out in a statement of affairs of the company, which must be filed at Companies House and made available on the company’s public record as soon as reasonably practicable by the administrator.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pre-pack administrations were referred to the Pre Pack Pool in each week since the beginning of February.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

There were 16 referrals to the Pre-Pack Pool between 1 February 2020 and 24 July 2020. The table below provides a weekly break down of referrals for the period in question.

Referrals made to the Pre-Pack Pool between 1 February 2020 and 24 July 2020

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to announce details of the financial funding arrangements for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station, in particular the method by which electricity consumers would be protected from future project cost escalation; and what plans they have to publish those details before the Development Consent Order application, accepted by the Planning Inspectorate on 26 June, is considered at Examination.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government is reviewing options for the financing of new nuclear projects. In 2019, we consulted on a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) as a possible funding model for future nuclear projects. The consultation sought views from stakeholders on proposed design principles for a nuclear RAB, including risk sharing arrangements with consumers. Our consultation was not project specific, as each project has its own financial considerations. We are currently considering consultation feedback and will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to those who have been refused refunds for cancelled events by the ticket resale site Viagogo.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

Under consumer protection law where a cancellation occurs, consumers may be entitled to a refund within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Some businesses are also offering consumers alternative arrangements which individuals are able to choose should they wish. Consumers who paid by debit or credit card for an event, may also be able to secure a refund from their bank or credit card provider.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has created a Covid-19 taskforce and set up an online form to enable consumers to report any business they believe is behaving unfairly during the coronavirus pandemic. The online form can be found on the CMA’s website. The CMA also announced on 30^th April that in response to complaints about refunds they would be considering enforcement action in a number of sectors.

The CMA has published guidance to help consumers understand their rights and to help businesses treat their customers fairly. The guidance, “Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, consumer contracts, cancellations and refunds” is available on the CMA’s website.

Consumers can also seek free advice and help from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133, consumers living in Scotland should contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060 or through their website.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 23 July (HL6670), what estimate they have made of how much less carbon dioxide would be emitted if boilers in all large houses were fitted with stored passive flue gas heat recovery technology (1) when such houses are built, or (2) when boilers in such houses are replaced.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

Passive Flue Gas Heat Recovery System’s (PFGHR) with thermal storage can deliver total annual gas savings for heating hot water of around 30% for a typical domestic building. This is equivalent to a boiler efficiency improvement of around 5% versus a system without. These savings can vary significantly depending on the volume of the thermal store, space heating demand, usage patterns and property type.

Domestic hot water gas savings will typically be close to 20% for a new-build dwelling, and up to 35% for a larger existing property.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy research paper Stakeholder perceptions of non-financial reporting, published in October 2019, (1) why they commissioned PwC to undertake this research; (2) whether the tendering process took account of any financial interest PwC had in non-financial reporting systems relating to that company’s audit services; (3) why the paper does not specify (a) which stakeholders were involved in the research, and (b) how they were selected; (4) what assessment they have made of the relative benefits of UK-led non-financial reporting standards compared to international standards; and (5) what assessment they have made of the difficulty in reaching a consensus on common international standards for non-financial reporting of (a) human rights, and (b) climate change, impacts.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The PWC research was commissioned to inform work on a post-implementation review of non-financial reporting regulations, covering:

a) the 2013 regulations which required all companies, apart from those subject to the small companies’ exemption, to produce strategic reports, and

b) the 2016 non-financial reporting regulations which required all large (>500 employees) Public Interest Entities to report on environmental, social and community matters to the extent necessary for an understanding of the company’s development, performance and position, and the impact of their activities.

The research project was put out to tender in line with the Public Procurement Guidelines. BEIS received two bids to carry out the work and PWC was selected as the preferred contractor, based on the quality of the bid including their expertise. The project was managed by a social researcher who agreed all details related to the methodology and its implementation. The focus of the report was on stakeholder and company perceptions of the regulations and their impact in general and did not use, or consider the use of, non-financial reporting systems by PwC or any other company.

For the qualitative interviews, the Department selected stakeholders covering a likely cross section of views, including a range of investor groups and non-profit and professional bodies and they are listed on page 12 of the report. The stakeholder interviews were intended to complement the quantitative survey of over 100 companies, who provided their views on a confidential basis.

Although different reporting frameworks and international standards were not a focus of the 2019 research, the UK Government supports the use of international frameworks or standards for reporting on non-financial issues where this is possible. We have commissioned further research, which will include looking at the role of domestic and international reporting frameworks.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide guidance about (1) employment rights, and (2) COVID-19-related health and safety issues, to all employees and employers in the UK from 1 August.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government’s guidance on work and financial support in relation to coronavirus includes information about employment rights as well as other key issues such as how to access financial support, safe working and childcare. This can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Acas also offers guidance and advice for employers and employees. This can be accessed through the Acas website or by calling the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100.

The Government has also provided clear and comprehensive safer workplaces guidance for employers and employees. This guidance has and will integrate, where appropriate, the Department for Health and Social Care’s guidance on protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19. The safer workplaces guidance is non-statutory but does not change existing obligations relating to health and safety, employment, or equalities. Employers have a duty under UK law to protect the health and safety of their workers and other people who might be affected by their business. This includes considering the risks that COVID-19 represents.

The Health and Safety Executive website also has specific guidance on the risk assessment process and the steps businesses should take.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recent decisions by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the current wholesale cost of fuel, what assessment they have made of the cost of fuel at petrol stations in the UK.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

Her Majesty’s Government monitors the national average retail prices of fuels and these are published on GOV.UK.

BEIS analysis shows that changes in the price of crude oil are the main driver of movements in the national average retail prices of fuels such a petrol and diesel. Other factors include currency exchange rates and the balance of supply and demand for these fuels in the wholesale petroleum products markets. Changes in the price of crude oil feed through to the retail prices over the course of about 6 weeks.

The Government believes that a competitive market is the best way to keep prices low. Retail fuels markets are subject to UK competition law under the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with ACU Strategic Partners about the future construction of nuclear power stations.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government engages in discussions with numerous companies in the nuclear sector. I am unable to comment on any specific discussions due to commercial sensitivities.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they estimate the development consent order for the proposed nuclear power station at Wylfa Newydd will be approved.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering the Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report regarding development consent for the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station. This Report is being reviewed alongside the further information received following the Government’s post-examination consultation on the application. The deadline for the Secretary of State’s decision is 30 September 2020.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 26 June, what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the statement “there is a possibility that the entirety of the investment is lost and no wider benefits accrued” in relation to the investment into OneWeb.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government carried out a detailed examination of the business which demonstrated a commercial case for investment.

The fact that we are investing alongside a private commercial investor indicates a rational commercial case for investing. The deal will support the UK to be a pioneer in the research, development, manufacturing of novel satellite technologies, whilst boosting UK manufacturing.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 15 July (HL6348), how they propose to be publicly accountable for their investment in OneWeb.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The deal is subject to certain regulatory clearances and is expected to close before the end of the year.

We will have strong representation on the board, fully involved in setting the strategic direction of the business and developing the company’s business plan.

Mechanisms will be implemented for the continued monitoring and evaluation of the investment.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to expand the Hydrogen Advisory Council as part of the formation of a wider UK hydrogen strategy.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

We are committed to developing hydrogen as a decarbonised energy carrier and are developing our strategic approach to growing the UK hydrogen economy. In order to support this, we established the Hydrogen Advisory Council, which first met on 20^th July 2020. The Council will enable Government to work in partnership with Industry to ensure the UK is at the forefront of low carbon hydrogen production and supply, which will have a key role to play in supporting clean growth and tackling climate change.

The Council will initially focus on actions to enable the scale up of hydrogen production, and its membership reflects this. The Council will oversee a range of workstreams in support of its objectives. If deemed appropriate, some of the workstreams may be delivered by working groups, membership of which may come from the organisations represented on the Council and/or more widely according to need.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to strengthen the right of employees to request flexible working, and (2) to ensure that employers prioritise arrangements for staff to work from home rather than in offices, from 1 August.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government is clear about the benefits of flexible working for employers and their employees. All employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer have the right to request Flexible Working.

In our manifesto we said that, subject to consultation, we would introduce measures to make flexible working the default.

From 1 August, we are giving employers more discretion to make decisions about how their staff can work safely.

This could mean continuing to work from home or it could mean working in a covid-secure workplace. We encourage employers to discuss this with their employees.

The Government has clearly set out how to make workplaces covid-secure in its Safer Workplaces guidance. As we reopen our economy, it’s right that we give employers more discretion while continuing to ensure employees are kept safe.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take action to protect diagnosed diabetics returning to work in the hospitality industry from the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

It is for each business to carry out its own risk assessment, in consultation with their workers, to inform the actions they should take to reduce the risks of COVID-19.

The Government has published guidance – specifically, section 3.1 ‘Protecting people who are at higher risk’ – to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These guides cover a range of working environments and are available on the Government’s website.

Nothing in this guidance affects employers’ existing responsibilities under employment and equalities legislation. Employers therefore need to bear in mind the particular needs of different groups or individuals, and make sure that the steps they take to address the risk of COVID-19 do not unjustifiably impact on some groups compared with others.

The safer workplaces guidance provides information to employers on how best to meet these responsibilities in the context of COVID-19.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Callanan on 8 July (HL Deb, col 1119) that OneWeb “has many applications that the UK can leverage, including defence applications” and the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 14 July (HL6644) which stated that “the investment in OneWeb is not a Defence matter”, whether OneWeb has any current defence applications; if so  what those applications are; and if not, when they became aware that OneWeb could not be applied to defence matters.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The current OneWeb offering does not include any defence specific applications. The investment in OneWeb is not a defence matter. Moving forward, OneWeb’s capabilities around its second-generation satellite offering will be reviewed in the context of the UK’s evolving civil and military space requirements.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Callanan on 8 July (HL Deb, col 1119), how long they estimate it will take OneWeb to provide the UK with sovereign-controlled satellite capabilities.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

We are working with the company and our partners, and the capability will be available once the constellation reaches minimum viable service.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to utilise OneWeb in their future defence and commercial strategies; and how many jobs they estimate will result from their investment in OneWeb in the UK.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

OneWeb and its capabilities will be considered as part of the Space Strategy under the direction of the National Space Council. As the OneWeb offering matures, we will monitor its utility to critical national infrastructure, as we do with a variety of capabilities and providers.

The agreement we have secured with Bharti secures 70 existing UK jobs in OneWeb, and we will be looking to expand the company and its supply chain in the UK.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring forward proposals for the regulation of Prepack Administrations; and if so when.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Government will publish a report in due course of its review of the voluntary measures that were introduced in 2015 to enhance regulation of pre-pack administrations. The report will set out the Government’s plans for the future of pre-pack administrations.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for early human challenge trials to assist with the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer (Lord Callanan)

The Vaccine Taskforce fully recognises the importance of effective clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of potential vaccines. The case for early human challenge studies is under constant review and we are working at pace to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to ensure the consistent application of Business Support Grants for organisations in receipt of Small Business Rates relief across local government; and if he will make a statement.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The Government has put forward a package support for businesses to help with their ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF). Businesses in scope of this scheme are those with a property that, on 11 March 2020, were in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (including those with a Rateable Value between £12,000 and £15,000 which received tapered relief) or Rural Rates Relief.

Local authorities are responsible for delivering grants to eligible businesses and we have provided detailed Grant Funding Schemes guidance for local authorities on the eligibility for, and provision of, this fund: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding. We are also working closely with local authorities to ensure the appropriate assurance checks are made before grants are paid out and to promote and share best practice, including providing supplementary guidance and FAQs.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether evidence received by Parliamentary Ombudsman on the Government's handling of the Horizon issue can be considered by the Independent review into the Post Office Ltd Horizon IT system.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government is in the process of setting up an Independent Review to look into the Horizon dispute and court case to ensure lessons are learned for the future.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman operates independently from Government. Should it decide to open its own inquiry into Post Office Ltd. and the Horizon operating system, it will be a matter for the Parliamentary Ombudsman to decide whether it can, and if so should, share evidence it receives with the Independent Review.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the creation of the infrastructure required for further roll out of hydrogen gas as an alternative to less environmentally friendly options.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government is already investing up to £121m (between 2015 and 2021) in innovation across the hydrogen supply chain to grow the UK hydrogen economy. This includes the £33m Hydrogen Supply competition, supporting projects including renewable hydrogen at scale through offshore floating wind (Dolphyn), and the world’s largest electrolyser production facility (ITM Gigafactory). The HyDeploy project has been commissioned by Gas Network Operators to investigate the option of blending up to 20% hydrogen with natural gas in the gas grid, while the Government’s £25m Hy4Heat programme is exploring the safety and feasibility of using 100% hydrogen for heat in homes.

In addition, a £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund was announced in August 2019, to stimulate capital investment in new low carbon hydrogen production, and at the Budget this year we announced at least £800m to support carbon capture and storage infrastructure that could help enable production of low carbon hydrogen at scale.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2020 to Question 60652 on Renewable energy, what plans his Department has to install more solar panels and wind turbines on its buildings in the next five years.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

At present, the Department has no plans to install additional solar panels or wind turbines at its headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street in the next five years. As part of the Department’s drive to reduce its impact on the environment and achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest, we are working with our contractors to identify the best route to sustainable energy supply.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2020 to Question 65917 on Renewable energy, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of spending on solar PV energy by his Department compared to conventional energy sources.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The annual maintenance cost for the solar PV array for 2020 at the Department’s headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street, London is £955.00. Costs dating back earlier than this are unavailable as maintenance of the solar PV array formed part of a wider maintenance package.

The Department has spent the following amounts on electricity at 1 Victoria Street in the past two years and in 2020/21 to date. Data earlier than this is currently inaccessible.

*Data for 2020/21 is for April – June inclusive

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is allocating to the establishment of (a) electric and (b) hydrogen powered flight; and if he will make a statement.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government has a wide range of programmes and challenges that can support research and technology on electric and hydrogen powered flight. These include the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme (£1.95 billion public funding commitment, 2013 to 2026); Future Flight Challenge (£125 million public funding); Faraday Challenge (£246 million); and Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge (£80 million).

Our ATI progamme is supporting electric and hydrogen power flight projects, and our publicly funded FlyZero initiative, announced on 20 July, will bring together experts from across the aviation and aerospace sector to tackle issues in designing and building a commercially successful zero-emission aircraft.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) a green and (b) a resilient recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his speech of June 30, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that in recovering from COVID-19, we must build back better, build back greener, build back faster, and to do that at the pace that this moment requires. At my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer's economic update on July 8, the Government set out the next stage in our plan to support the UK’s recovery from the pandemic.

We are taking action to support a Green Recovery in every sector including: over £3 billion to transform energy efficiency in homes and public buildings; over £1 billion support for ultra-low emission vehicles; £800 million to capture carbon from power stations and industry; £640 million in Nature Climate Fund; and £100 million for research and development into Direct Air Capture technologies.

We will continue to build on this and deliver a stronger, greener, more sustainable economy after this pandemic.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department provides for the workplace for (a) employees on the ADHD spectrum and (b) their employers.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The Government appreciates that people with mental health conditions – including those on the ADHD spectrum – may face challenges in the workplace and encourages employers to take appropriate steps to support them.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) produces guidance on supporting mental health in the workplace aimed at both employers and workers: https://www.acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace.

Acas has also produced a framework for positive mental health at work and offers training on understanding mental health issues in the workplace: https://archive.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1900.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department will work with interested parties in resuming the E-Fan X demonstrator project; and if he will make a statement.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

We will make sure that the wider learning gathered during the E-FanX project, including important work with Cranfield University, is disseminated widely.

We continue to work with Rolls-Royce on the power generation system and ground testing, at Bristol, which was at the core of their element of the project. The learning at Rolls-Royce will be integrated into any future aircraft development requiring a hybrid-electric propulsion system. We are also working closely with Airbus and Rolls-Royce across a range of technologies including zero emissions aircraft.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage environmentally-friendly industry and manufacturing in the (a) Wolverhampton South West constituency and (b) UK.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

Achieving Net Zero remains a priority and the Government will consider how transitioning to a carbon neutral economy, creating new sources of competitive advantage in green manufacturing and sustainable business, will feature in a post-COVID-19 economy. We recognise that policies and measures to support low carbon technologies can be drivers of economic growth and new jobs in the Wolverhampton South constituency and across the UK, for example electric vehicle manufacturing in the Midlands.

The Government has just launched the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, a scheme set up to help businesses with high energy use to reduce energy bills and cut carbon emissions. This scheme will support businesses to invest in energy efficient, low carbon technologies and in doing so help to place industry on a path to a low carbon future.

The Industrial Clusters Mission will establish the world’s first net-zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040 and at least one low-carbon cluster by 2030. To kick start the Mission, we will be investing up to £170 million via the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge (IDC) fund to support the deployment of low-carbon technologies and enabling infrastructure in one or more clusters.

The Made Smarter Review found that greater adoption and innovation of industrial digital technology in UK manufacturing could deliver a 4.5% reduction in CO2 emissions and over £10 billion in reduced resource costs. Through our Made Smarter programme, we are investing up to £167 million to support digitalisation in UK manufacturing and through which we are already seeing examples of the role digital technology plays in increasing the resilience of firms in the sector.

Finally, the BEIS Local Energy Programme is designed to maximise local contribution to clean growth, decarbonisation, and to help reach net zero targets. The programme works with Local Enterprise Partnerships, Local Authorities and Communities in England to drive development of clean growth as a key part of Local Industrial Strategies and support local clean growth investment. The key focus is mobilisation of green finance to support projects at local level that wouldn’t otherwise happen. The Local Energy Programme, which includes the Midlands Energy Hub, addresses barriers to clean growth activity and equips areas to drive private sector investment into clean growth across a pipeline of local projects.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has plans to enter into a partnership with the EU on its plan to negotiate an advanced purchase agreement of covid-19 vaccines.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

We are committed to collaboration with the EU and other international partners to ensure a coronavirus vaccine is made available to all as soon as possible.

However, on 10 July 2020, the UK wrote to the European Commission to confirm its decision not to enter into partnership with the EU on its plan to negotiate an advanced purchase agreement on covid-19 vaccines. This decision was made because the EU scheme would not allow the UK to have a say in the vaccines procured, the price, the quantity and the delivery schedule. The UK would also not be allowed to continue pursuing independent discussions with pharmaceutical companies, which is key to ensuring the British public have swift access to any vaccine. This decision was published via an Explanatory Memorandum to Parliament.

That is not to say that we do not want to work closely with the EU on other initiatives outside of this framework, where we continue to engage with the Commission.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK Government plans to participate with the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility for the domestic procurement of covid-19 vaccines.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

We are committed to ensuring that there is adequate global distribution of vaccines to bring the quickest possible end to the pandemic and the economic damage it inflicts. This includes UK participation in live discussions relating to the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX). The UK have expressed interest in COVAX and are working with international partners to shape the design of the facility.

We have already committed £48 million of re-programmed funds to the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to establish a sector council for energy networks to bring together Government, industry and other stakeholders to advise on the UK's energy system development.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government and Ofgem, as the independent regulator, are responsible for the policy and regulatory framework in which the energy system develops. We regularly engage with industry and other stakeholders on the development of the energy system, for example through Ofgem’s RIIO price control process.

Network companies also engage with industry and other stakeholders in developing future energy scenarios and network system plans. Examples of this include the Electricity System Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios and the annual Ten-Year Development Statements published by the Gas and Electricity System Operators.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage former post-doctoral researchers return to the profession.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

As set out in our R&D Roadmap, we want to ensure a strong offer to attract those with the most talent and potential, and so alongside the new Office for Talent and visa reform, we will be reviewing the talent offer across all career stages to make sure that the coverage and attractiveness of programmes is among the best in the world. We will identify actions we can take to increase support for early career researchers, giving them the skills, knowledge and experience needed to progress their careers inside or outside academia.

Schemes funded by Government take career breaks and requirements for flexible working, into account. This includes UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowships and the Royal Society’s University Research Fellowships. UKRI also works with the Daphne Jackson Trust, supporting fellowships specifically aimed at returning researchers to their chosen fields after a career break. Together, these provide pathways back into academia and funding for researchers.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2020 to Question 66860, what discussions have been held with Airbus on their plans to manufacture OneWeb satellites at the Florida plant; and what steps he is taking to encourage OneWeb manufacturing jobs to move to the UK.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

The agreement we have secured with Bharti secures 70 existing UK jobs in OneWeb, and we will be using our position to encourage expansion of its supply chain in the UK and direct manufacturing here.

There have been discussions with Airbus, but these are of a commercially sensitive nature.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has established a second wave business support plan to prepare for a potential second wave of covid-19 (a) infections and (b) lockdowns.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The Department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and Joint Biosecurity Centre to monitor Covid-19 incidence rates and the need for local responses.

We have pressed for a smarter, more targeted approach to local lockdowns to help reduce business impacts, including shaping the new, targeted regulations that allow local authorities to avoid widespread business closures.

We will take decisions on further business support for local lockdowns on the basis of evidence of need, recognising that the Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to expand the powers of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to include workers employed by umbrella bodies in enforcing the provisions of the Employment Agencies Act 1973.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have already made significant progress in improving the rights of agency workers, in particular by increasing the information they receive about pay rates, including when they are employed by umbrella companies.

The Government has committed to expand the remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to include umbrella companies. In the Queen’s Speech we announced our intention to bring forward an Employment Bill. We will bring forward detailed proposals on future legislation in due course.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2020 to Question 64183, what steps the (a) Government and (b) UKRI are taking to encourage diversity in UKRI funded PhD studentships.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

The Government is committed to developing a strong, diverse academic workforce. As part of our recently published R&D roadmap, we will be working with stakeholders on a new R&D people and culture strategy. This strategy will examine how we can better attract diverse talent into research and enhance UK research culture.

In addition, UKRI are supporting and promoting diversity of PhD students through a number of initiatives:

• Research England and the Office for Students are funding a competition to reduce inequalities in postgraduate research study to launch in Autumn 2020.
• Research England and Office for Students’ Catalyst fund (£1.5 million) will improve support for mental health and wellbeing for postgraduate researchers.
• The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s £5.5 million inclusion matters call will fund projects on equality, diversity and inclusion with projects looking at recruitment strategies and practices.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 71047 on Research: Finance, how much of that funding will be funded through the £1 billion announced in Budget 2020.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

Of the £100m for Direct Air Capture and carbon removal technologies, £70m will be allocated and delivered from the £1 billion BEIS Energy Innovation Programme as announced in the Budget in 2020. A further £31.5m will be spent through the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund: Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrators (GGR-D).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the estimated costs, to date, (1) of preparing for the UK's participation in the Unified Patent Court, and (2) of any future wind down costs consequent on their decision to withdraw their ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court and the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Unified Patent Court. [T]

Answer (Lord Callanan)

UK contribution to the project to date has been from multiple sources and amounted to £9.5m.

The Government committed to leasing accommodation for the UPC in London which is currently being utilised by the IPO and other tenants. We have invoked the break clause set out in the lease. We estimate future IPO costs of approximately £420,000 in net rent, plus costs to return the accommodation to its original state.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support investment in research and development in fuel cell manufacturing technology in the UK.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The UK is well placed to realise the opportunities from hydrogen and fuel cells thanks to our high-quality engineering and manufacturing capability in relevant supply chains. We are working in partnership with industry to develop our strategic approach to hydrogen and related policy, including business models to support investment.

Through Innovate UK, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), we have supported several fuel cell trial and innovation projects to build UK expertise. The APC has provided more than £35 million in grants to projects undertaking research and development to accelerate the commercialisation of fuel cells in automotive applications.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what risk assessment was carried out to assess the potential transmission of covid-19 during the process of (a) beard trimming with no face covering and (b) eyebrow shaping with a face covering.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have set out clear steps that should be taken by businesses to keep customers safe in our COVID-secure guidelines. This guidance has been developed by BEIS with input from firms, unions and industry bodies, and in consultation with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive.

Beauty services should only be provided where they can be carried out in a fully COVID-secure way, and away from the highest risk zone. For instance, beard services should only be provided where they can be carried out safely from the side or from behind to avoid the high-risk zone. Any intricate detailing, outlining or shaving of beards should not be carried out as this would be within the highest risk zone. Many of the treatments not allowed, for example eyebrow waxing, would require the practitioner to be very close to the highest risk zone in front of the client’s face for a extended period of time, thus increasing the risks for both client and practitioner. In these circumstances it would be best to avoid these treatments.

We have worked closely with businesses and trade associations from the industry, as well as with medical experts, to determine both what is the highest risk zone and what services would fall within this zone. The National Hair & Beauty Federation, British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, and British Beauty Council have been consulted and support this approach, as the safety of their staff and customers is paramount. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have signed off this approach.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives of the health and beauty industry on devising safe working practices to allow the resumption of those treatments which cannot currently be carried out safely.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Close Contact Services taskforce comprised stakeholders from a cross section of the sector, including representative organisations. We consulted these stakeholders due to their expertise and real-life knowledge and experience of the challenges faced by the industry during the COVID-19 outbreak.

This taskforce was responsible for developing guidance to help businesses in this sector prepare to reopen safely, and representations have included:

• All Party Parliamentary Group for Beauty, Aesthetics and Wellbeing
• Associated Beauty Therapists
• Coalition letter from 180 businesses in the beauty, aesthetics, spa and wellness industry
• The National Hair and Beauty Federation.

Any Ministerial meeting information will be shared in due course on: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason makeup artists have been allowed to resume work for films but not for weddings.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The application of makeup of performers in productions for the film and TV industry is undertaken by a limited number of professionals working with the limited number of performers in that production for the duration of that production.

Make-up artists and other close contact commercial services work with whoever they have appointments with and the number of people, and hence different contacts, will far exceed the number on a production set.

We have worked closely with businesses and trade associations from the industry, as well as with medical experts, to determine both what is the highest risk zone and what services would fall within this zone. The National Hair & Beauty Federation, British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, and British Beauty Council have been consulted and support this approach, as the safety of their staff and customers is paramount. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have also signed off this approach.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what evidence the Government used to assess the safety of facial beauty treatments carried out by a beautician from behind the head.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have worked closely with businesses and trade associations from the industry, as well as with medical experts, to determine both what is the highest risk zone and what services would fall within this zone.

As defined by consultation with the industry and with medical advisors, the highest risk zone is the area in front of the face. SAGE has advised that the highest risk of transmission is through aerosols and droplets when people are in prolonged close, face-to-face contact within 2m.

Services should only be provided where they can be carried out in a fully COVID-secure way, and away from the highest risk zone. For instance, beard services should only be provided where they can be carried out safely from the side or from behind to avoid the highest risk zone. Any intricate detailing, outlining or shaving of beards should not be carried out as this would be within the highest risk zone.

The National Hair & Beauty Federation, British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, and British Beauty Council have been consulted and support this approach, as the safety of their staff and customers is paramount. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have also signed off this approach.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the medical guidance underpinning the decision not to allow health and beauty salons to carry out certain treatments during the covid-19 outbreak in (a) Blackpool and (b) the UK.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Ministerial Taskforces have been getting scientific input from Public Health England (PHE) as they draft guidance. Each individual working group which produced the guidance published on 11 May had active PHE presence, and each set of guidance was produced in collaboration with them, the Health and Safety Executive and other Departments. This model was followed by the close contact services taskforce.

The PHE staff who have supported the BEIS taskforces are in regular direct contact with those attending SAGE and have access to the PHE SAGE read-outs. They have endeavoured to reflect closely the SAGE recommendations and have also been responsible for putting some subjects pertinent to BEIS discussions to SAGE, such as persistence of COVID-19 on surfaces, and consideration of social distancing requirements under different scenarios. SAGE information is shared on its website: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to help ensure that investment in economic recovery supports meeting the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear our intention to build back greener. We are taking action in every sector of the economy: we announced over £3 billion for decarbonising the UK’s buildings and delivering green jobs; £1 billion for charging infrastructure and extending Plug in-Grants to 2023 for ultra-low emission vehicles; £800 million to capture carbon from power stations and industry; £640 million Nature for Climate Fund; and £100 million R&D into Direct Air Capture.

In March, we published the first phase of our transport decarbonisation plan and will be setting our further plans on energy, heat and buildings and the natural environment later this year and early next year, in the run up to COP26.

We will continue to build on these steps and deliver a stronger, greener, more sustainable economy after this pandemic.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many landlords have registered an exemption from having to meet the minimum energy efficiency standards.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

As of 1 July 2020, 9580 exemptions had been registered on the Private Rented Sector Exemptions Register. Of these, 9269 were for domestic properties and 311 for non-domestic properties.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to increase funding allocated to medical research in the North East.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

In 2018, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) spent over £32m on health-related research in the North East.

UKRI, funds medical research primarily through the Medical Research Council (MRC). UKRI welcomes investigator-led proposals from the North-East and a key consideration for a future strategy is how UKRI research can best benefit the regions in the UK.

The MRC has a number of investments based in the North East including the MRC-Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated Musculoskeletal Research which is a collaboration between research and clinicians at Newcastle University, the University of Liverpool and the University of Sheffield. The Centre will focus on understanding 1) how muscles, bones and joints change as we age, 2) how this makes some people prone to problem with tissues such as arthritis, and 3) what each person can do to reduce the risk of developing these problems. Another recent investment based in the North East includes the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing based at Newcastle University which brings together scientists, industry, the NHS, the charitable and public sectors to bring products to market that optimise health and wellbeing as people age.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken in the last 12 months to tackle concerns about the Newton Fund as expressed in the July 2019 Independent Commission for Aid Impact report; and what proportion of the 2020-21 research and development budget he plans to allocate to the Newton Fund.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

In the year since the publication of the ICAI Report, we have implemented many of the ICAI’s recommendations and we are making significant progress in all areas of our Funds’ operations, working closely with our UK and international partners.

This is set out in the Government’s evidence provided to the International Development Sub-Committee on ICAI (https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/2189/html/).

ICAI themselves have recognised much of the progress made, in their follow-up review published today.

The Newton Fund 2020-21 allocation (revised to £107m) reflects 1% of the Department’s total 2020-21 R&D budget (£10,361m).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has in place to ensure that EEA trademark attorneys do not have the right to appear before the UK Intellectual Property Office at the end of the transition period.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

Officials at the Intellectual Property Office are exploring options in relation to the rules on address for service once the transition period ends. They plan to carry out a ‘call for views’ as soon as possible, to enable them to consider what options suit representatives and applicants.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the proposed Energy White Paper will include an assessment of the role of flexibility in meeting net zero climate targets.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has set out his intention to publish the Energy White Paper this Autumn.

The Energy White Paper will address the transformation of our energy system as we deliver net-zero emissions by 2050.

We have taken clear actions to enable flexibility through our Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan, including reforming markets so that they properly reward flexibility, removing barriers for flexible technologies, and investing in flexible innovation.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in Canterbury district council area that live in social housing are affected by fuel poverty.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The latest sub-regional data (2018) can be found in Fuel Poverty Sub-regional tables at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2020.

Estimates are only available for the number of households and number and proportion of fuel poor households at sub-regional level. Estimates by tenure are not available. Information on the sub-regional methodology can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-methodology-and-documentation.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 69544 on OneWeb, whether his scientific advisers recommend the purchase of Oneweb.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy took advice from experts across government to provide detailed scrutiny of the commercial, financial and scientific rationales for investment. In light of this, the decision was made to invest in OneWeb, promoting the UK focus in research and innovation and putting Britain at the cutting edge of the latest advances in space technology.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to promote green jobs and investment as part of the economic recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his speech of June 30, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that in recovering from COVID-19, we must build back greener. This year alone, the government has set out billions in ambitious support for our low-carbon economy and green jobs. In the Chancellor’s economic update on July 8, over £3 billion investment was announced to decarbonise the UK’s buildings and transform energy efficiency in homes. This investment could support up to 140,000 green jobs.

In addition, on 30 June, the Prime Minister announced the £40m Green Recovery Challenge Fund. This will help to restore nature and tackle climate change while also creating up to 3,000 jobs and safeguarding up to 2,000 others in conservation organisations and suppliers.

These recent announcements build on investments outlined in the Spring Budget to support our low-carbon economy and green jobs including £1 billion for ultra-low emission vehicles including for charging infrastructure and plug-in grants and £800 million to capture carbon from power stations and industry.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2020 to Question 64958 on Females: Coronavirus, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the cultural shift in flexible working for all during the covid-19 outbreak is embedded in future workforce practices.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government is clear about the benefits of flexible working for employers and their employees.

Since Covid-19 measures were introduced many more people have been working from home with many businesses rapidly adapting to remote working, using new technology and finding new ways of working. As we move beyond the current situation we are keen to do more to promote flexible working in all its forms.

All employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer have the right to request Flexible Working. In our manifesto we committed to take this further and we will be looking at this in light of COVID.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he made of the relative speed of beard trimming for men compared to eyebrow waxing for women as part of the decision for barbershops to reopen but not beauty salons as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have set out clear steps that should be taken by businesses to keep customers safe in our COVID-secure guidelines. This guidance has been developed by BEIS with input from firms, unions and industry bodies, and in consultation with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive.

Beauty services should only be provided where they can be carried out in a fully COVID-secure way, and away from the highest risk zone. For instance, beard services should only be provided where they can be carried out safely from the side or from behind to avoid the high-risk zone. Any intricate detailing, outlining or shaving of beards should not be carried out as this would be within the highest risk zone. Many of the treatments not allowed, for example eyebrow waxing, would require the practitioner to be very close to the highest risk zone in front of the client’s face for a extended period of time, thus increasing the risks for both client and practitioner. In these circumstances it would be best to avoid these treatments.

We have worked closely with businesses and trade associations from the industry, as well as with medical experts, to determine both what is the highest risk zone and what services would fall within this zone. The National Hair & Beauty Federation, British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, and British Beauty Council have been consulted and support this approach, as the safety of their staff and customers is paramount. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have signed off this approach.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from the public purse has been disbursed to each region through (a) the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (b) loans, (c) cash grants and (d) tax relief to the inland waterways sector to help tackle the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak on businesses in that sector.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government has introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses, including loan schemes, grant funding and wage packages. Businesses from most sectors, are able to access this support, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the schemes for which they are applying.

We do not hold information that would allow us to identify the support accessed by individual businesses or individual sectors such as inland waterways across the package of Government support.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what level of support Windermere Lake Cruises has received through business support schemes as a result of the covid-19 outbreak to date.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government has introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses, including loan schemes, grant funding and wage packages. Businesses from most sectors are able to access this support, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the schemes for which they are applying.

We do not hold information on the support accessed by individual businesses such as Windermere Lake Cruises.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from different industries and sectors on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on those industries and sectors.

Answer (Paul Scully)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and other ministers at BEIS hold regular sector calls with all the industries that BEIS covers, including but not limited to sectors within manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional services, retail and hospitality. The industry representatives range from large to small businesses and trade associations. Additionally, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Secretary of State has held frequent group calls with the major business representative organisations that represent a wide range of businesses in sectors and regions. All these engagements have provided information on the impact of Covid-19 on industries and sectors, and have informed the response from BEIS and other Government departments. The BEIS ministerial team continues to use these on-going engagements to ensure the effectiveness of the Government’s responses to the Covid-19 outbreak and, as demonstrated by the Secretary of State’s recent industry roundtables on Economic Recovery, to ensure a safe return to work across the whole UK economy as quickly as possible.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the hospitality sector of ending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in October 2020.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have engaged closely with representatives from the hospitality sector to discuss i the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and other issues. The Government will continue to work with the hospitality sector to ensure it is supported through the reopening period and its longer-term recovery following the Covid-19 outbreak. Recent announcements such as the Job Retention Bonus, the six-month temporary VAT reduction from 20% to 5% for the hospitality sector and the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme that is running during August will all provide additional support for the sector.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance the Government issued prior to the reopening of hairdressers and barbers on 4 July 2020 on the prohibition of (a) eyebrow threading or trimming, (b) nose waxing and (c) beard trimming; and whether any subsequent such guidance was issued after 9 July 2020.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government published pre-reopening guidance on 23 June for closed Close Contact Services.

New guidance, including further detail of the ‘highest risk zone’ services, which remain unavailable, was published on 9 July.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what evidence base the Government used to determine that beard trimming was safer than facial beauty treatments for the purposes of easing covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Answer (Paul Scully)

As defined by consultation with the industry and with medical advisors, the highest risk zone is the area in front of the face. SAGE has advised that the highest risk of transmission is through aerosols and droplets when people are in prolonged close, face-to-face contact within 2m.

Services should only be provided where they can be carried out in a fully COVID-secure way, and away from the highest risk zone.

For instance, beard services should only be provided where they can be carried out safely from the side or from behind to avoid the high-risk zone. Any intricate detailing, outlining or shaving of beards should not be carried out as this would be within the highest risk zone.

Many of the treatments currently not allowed, such as facial beauty treatments, would require the practitioner to be very close to the highest risk zone in front of the client’s face for an extended period of time, thus increasing the risks for both client and practitioner. In these circumstances it would be best to avoid these treatments.

The National Hair & Beauty Federation, British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, and British Beauty Council have been consulted and support this approach, as the safety of their staff and customers is paramount. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have also signed off this approach.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the number of people unable to apply for a Bounce Back Loan as a result of an application for a feeder account being declined.

Answer (Paul Scully)

Decision-making on lending under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme is fully delegated to the Scheme’s accredited lenders.

In order to minimise administrative burden and therefore facilitate the issuing of as many loans as possible, the British Business Bank’s system only gathers data from lenders when loans are offered and drawn. Decisions on whether to capture information relating to rejected loans are at the discretion of the lender.

It is not a requirement of the Scheme for businesses to operate via a business account. However, some lenders may request that an applicant opens a business account in line with their standard policies. This is at the sole discretion of the lender.

A lender may consider paying funds into a personal current account if no business bank account is held, if it has been satisfactorily evidenced that the personal current account is being used for business purposes.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many British companies mine rare earth minerals; and what proportion of total global output do they produce.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government is not aware of any current rare earth minerals mining activity in this country.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative estimate he has made of the number of rare earth separation plants in (a) the UK, (b) the People’s Republic of China, (c) the EU, (d) the United States, (e) Australia and (f) Canada.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government has made no such estimate. However, we fully recognise the importance of rare earth materials to industry, particularly those industries that underpin the clean, green economy to which we are committed such as wind turbines and low-emission vehicles.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what differences were identified between physiotherapists and sport therapists which led to the Government issuing guidance for those businesses to reopen on separate dates as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Answer (Paul Scully)

Close contact services – which includes sports and massage therapy – in England, except Leicester, were able to reopen from Monday 13 July, subject to them following the COVID-secure guidelines.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to mitigate the effect of the mandatory wearing of masks in shops on (a) customers and (b) shop workers who are (i) deaf and (ii) hard of hearing that rely on (A) lip reading and (B) facial expressions to communicate.

Answer (Paul Scully)

From 24 July all customers must wear face coverings in shops and supermarkets. This is in addition to the requirement to wear face coverings on public transport.

As is the case for public transport, there will be a range of exemptions set out in law. This will include children under 11 and those with certain disabilities.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 68687, what formula was used to determine how much funding local authorities received from the Coronavirus Discretionary Grant Fund.

Answer (Paul Scully)

Each of the 314 billing authorities currently involved in the delivery of the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Fund will receive a fixed minimum allocation for the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund as a 5% uplift of the value of its in-scope hereditaments as identified at 3 May 2020. Individual letters were issued to all 314 Local Authorities on 20 May 2020 with a detailed explanation of their allocation.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to publish a review of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 in response to his Department's 2014 consultation on amendments to those regulations and the accompanying technical annex.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government consulted in 2014 and 2016 on amending the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Government published a response to the 2016 consultation on 18 July 2019.

There are no plans to publish a review of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. In its response to the 2016 consultation the Government announced that it will now develop a new approach to the regulations which is based on essential safety requirements to bring the regulations in line with modern product safety legislation.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has published on how redundancy payments should be calculated for employees who have been furloughed during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether rates of pay for furloughed employees who have had variable working hours will be based on the hours they worked prior to being placed on furlough.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The provisions relating to calculation of redundancy and notice pay under the Employment Rights Act continue to apply when an individual is on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Employees who are dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfy certain qualifying conditions are statutorily entitled to a lump sum from their employer, based on their age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper limit, payable at, or soon after, the dismissal date.

As per the guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, grants cannot be used to substitute redundancy payments. We would urge employers not to use the Job Retention Scheme to make someone redundant on less favourable terms than they would otherwise have received.

Full guidance on how to calculate rates of pay for employees on variable hours can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculate-how-much-you-can-claim-using-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's specific guidance is on using previous wages to calculate redundancy and notice pay; and whether that calculation should include furlough pay.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The provisions relating to calculation of redundancy and notice pay under the Employment Rights Act continue to apply when an individual is on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Employees who are dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfy certain qualifying conditions are statutorily entitled to a lump sum from their employer, based on their age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper limit, payable at, or soon after, the dismissal date.

During this difficult period, we urge employers to exercise discretion and not use the Job Retention Scheme to make someone redundant on less favourable terms than they would otherwise have received.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2020 to Question 59769 on Future Fund, how many of the 252 convertible loans were issued to businesses in Newcastle.

Answer (Paul Scully)

On 21 July 2020 the British Business Bank published updated Future Fund data which gives a regional breakdown of 465 companies that have been approved for £468.7m worth of Convertible Loan Agreements since the scheme was launched on 20 May. This data is only available on a regional basis.

In the North East Region, 19 convertible loans have been approved, worth £18.7m. Of the total amount of £468.7m, 11% is to companies headquartered in the North (North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has provided to small businesses on data use and collection in relation to the coronavirus test and trace system.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The guidance on Test and Trace record collection can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/maintaining-records-of-staff-customers-and-visitors-to-support-nhs-test-and-trace.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that data collected by businesses in the hospitality industry to support test and trace is not being used for marketing purposes.

Answer (Paul Scully)

Government advice from the Department for Health and Social Care is clear. The data that is being asked to collect is personal data and must be handled in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect the privacy of your staff, customers and visitors.

Personal data that is collected for NHS Test and Trace, which organisations would not collect in their usual course of business, must be used only to share with NHS Test and Trace. It must not be used for other purposes, including marketing, profiling, analysis or other purposes unrelated to contact tracing, or they will be in breach of GDPR.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to publish the Government's strategy to prioritise and accelerate net zero solutions to decarbonise energy use in order to increase operator and business confidence in investment in low carbon infrastructure.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State will publish an Energy White Paper in the Autumn which will address these issues. The White Paper will drive economic recovery and help deliver our climate goals.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of (a) the implications for his Department's policies of Greater Manchester's plans to become carbon neutral by 2038 in light of the covid-19 pandemic, and (b) levels of consumer willingness to pay for a just and low cost transition to a decarbonised energy system.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The BEIS Local Energy Programme is supporting Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the clean energy economy. BEIS has allocated £500k directly to Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2017, through devolution, to develop innovative business models (for decarbonisation) and public sector leadership (for climate change and zero carbon targets) in support of their 2038 target, which are then shared with other Local Authorities.

As we recover from COVID-19, the Government intends to deliver a UK economy which is stronger, cleaner, more sustainable and resilient. My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Summer Statement included investments which will both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the economic recovery, reflecting the Government’s commitment to build back greener, deliver a green recovery and reach our net zero ambition.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to raise the minimum energy efficiency standard for properties in the private rented sector to Band D by 2025.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

We committed in the Clean Growth Strategy to look at a trajectory to improve as many privately rented homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2030, where practical, cost-effective, and affordable. The Government remains committed to this ambition and intends to consult on improving the energy performance standards of privately rented homes in due course.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to a new Fuel Poverty Strategy for England.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Following consultation, the Government is currently updating its Fuel Poverty Strategy for England and is considering the appropriate mix of subsidy, incentives and regulation required to meet the statutory Fuel Poverty Target to improve homes to an energy efficiency rating of Band C by 2030. We plan to publish an updated fuel poverty strategy later this year.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of UK businesses to increase their production of hydrogen supply.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Ministers and officials are engaging extensively with UK hydrogen stakeholders to inform development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier for the UK, including business models to support investment in low carbon hydrogen production.

Engagement has covered interests from production to end use, including the UK’s industrial clusters with representatives from carbon capture and storage enabled hydrogen projects and potential users of hydrogen; and electrolytic hydrogen producers such as Ryse and ITM Power.

We are formalising our engagement with such stakeholders through the establishment of a Hydrogen Advisory Council, which met for the first time this week. This will enable Government to work in partnership with Industry to drive commercial demonstration and deployment of low carbon hydrogen in the 2020s.

The UK is well placed to be a world leader in both the leading low carbon hydrogen production routes - electrolysis and carbon capture and storage enabled methane reformation. We are home to the world’s largest offshore wind market, have depleted oil and gas reservoirs off our coastline that could potentially store more than 78 billion tonnes of CO2 and significant underground salt beds which could provide tens of gigawatts of cost effective hydrogen storage.

The UK has world leading companies in both these production routes who are already developing major scale production projects, and a world leading innovation base that will contribute to development of the next generation of hydrogen production technologies.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the (a) types and (b) quantity in kilograms of critical minerals required to produce a wind turbine.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

BEIS has not made an assessment of the types and quantities of materials that go into producing a wind turbine.

BEIS is providing innovation support to Greenspur, a company based in Hertfordshire, to trial a new type of magnet – which does not use rare earth minerals - at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the (a) types and (b) quantity in kilograms of critical minerals required produce a standard solar panel.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government has not undertaken such an assessment. However, officials’ regular engagement with industry on the deliverability and sustainability of their deployment plans has elicited no concerns regarding the sourcing of critical materials.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant the oral statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer entitled Summer Economic Update, Official Report, column 973, whether housing association landlords will be able to access the £50 million fund to pilot steps to decarbonise social housing.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Summer Economic Update announced £50m to demonstrate innovative approaches to retrofitting social housing at scale, accelerating the delivery of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund envisaged by the manifesto. This will mean warmer and more energy efficient homes and could reduce annual energy bills by hundreds of pounds for some of the poorest households in society, as well as lowering carbon emissions.

Further details on the Social Housing Demonstrator, including eligibility, will be announced in in due course before the full launch in the Autumn.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the £2 billion of funding to help homeowners and landlords make their homes more energy-efficient in 2020-21 announced in the Chancellor's Plan for Jobs does not include water efficiency measures.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Further detail on the range of measures will be announced in the coming days, before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it his policy that the National Grid should become carbon neutral by 2050.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government has already legislated to deliver net zero emissions in the UK, becoming the first major economy to do so, and is working closely with Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, and industry to support the transition to a smarter, more flexible energy system. In April 2019, National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) announced it will be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon by 2025. The ability to operate a zero-carbon electricity system in 2025 is a major stepping stone to full decarbonisation of the entire electricity system in 2050.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will review the merits of OFGEM's role in relation to the setting of tariffs for gas transportation.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, has responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging. Ofgem have made their decision in accordance with their statutory duties and powers provided for under the Gas Act 1986, which includes Ofgem’s principal objective to protect the interests of GB’s current and future energy consumers.

The framework which governs the relationship between BEIS and Ofgem is reviewed every three years. For more information on the framework which sets out the relationship between BEIS and Ofgem, please visit: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/framework-document-setting-out-our-relationship-beis.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on the decision not to implement a short haul tariff for gas transportation in October.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

BEIS have been in regular discussion with Ofgem regarding their Gas (Transmission) Charging Review, including their decision to carry out an impact assessment to further explore the impacts of the four shorthaul proposals put forward by industry.

BEIS officials will continue to work closely and engage with Ofgem on all matters, whilst respecting Ofgem's responsibility as an independent regulatory authority.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of OFGEM’s decision not to implement a short haul tariff for gas transportation in October on energy intensive industries.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, has responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging and has made their decision in accordance with their statutory duties, including Ofgem’s principal objective to protect the interests of GB’s energy consumers. It is their responsibility to undertake this assessment independently and manage the trade-offs between different users of the National Transmission System (NTS).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess of the potential benefit of energy intensive industries creating their own local pipelines, independent of the national grid; and if he will make a statement.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The National Transmission System (NTS) is designed to offer a secure gas supply, for the benefit of all users. Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, have responsibility for matters relating to gas network charging. Ofgem’s assessment of the potential bypass of the NTS by users can be found within their impact assessment carried out for Uniform Network Code (UNC) modification 0678A, which can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/amendments-gas-transmission-charging-regime-decision-and-final-impact-assessment-unc678abcdefghij.

Ofgem have set out in their decision letter that they will carry out an impact assessment to further explore the impacts of four shorthaul proposals and whether the proposals address the inefficient bypass of the gas network. More information on Ofgem’s decision to carry out an impact assessment can be found here:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/uniform-network-code-728abcd-urgent-introduction-conditional-discount-avoiding-inefficient-bypass-nts.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much of the UK manufacturing economy is dependent on critical minerals.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The Government does not carry any publicly available data on critical minerals and no assessment of UK manufacturing’s dependency on such minerals has been made.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many kilograms of nickel are refined in the UK annually.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The information requested is not reported by the Office for National Statistics.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many electric vehicle fuel cells are produced in the UK annually.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The UK has world-leading expertise in hydrogen fuel cells. The scale of UK manufacturing for electric vehicles is understood to be approximately 0.5 MW annually, enough for around 100 fuel cell stacks.

The UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell powered transportation, which can support our ambitions for greener transport. The Government is supporting fuel cell manufacturers as part of the £1 billion industry-Government Advanced Propulsion Centre programme. We are also supporting the wider market through the Office for Low Emission Vehicle's £23 million Hydrogen for Transport Programme, which is increasing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations and deploying hundreds of vehicles.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many industrial magnet manufacturers are located in the UK; and what their combined annual production of industrial magnets is.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The official statistics do not separately identify businesses engaging specifically in industrial magnet manufacturing. However, according to the Office for National Statistics survey on UK manufacturers sales by product, in 2018 just over 1,500 tonnes of “permanent magnets or articles intended to become permanent magnets” were estimated to be sold by UK manufacturers.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what critical minerals are needed for the production of a standard fuel cell for an electric vehicle.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

As set out in ‘The future impact of materials security on the UK manufacturing industry’ paper for the Government Office for Science in 2013, hydrogen fuel cells require catalysts made of platinum group metals.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he will take to ensure the skills of engineers who are made redundant at Airbus are utilised as part of the economic recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

We are working closely with Airbus to help the company through Covid-19 and into recovery. I appreciate this is a worrying time for workers at Airbus who may be affected; the Government will do all that we can to support affected workers through the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centre Plus in England, and in Wales through the services offered through the ReAct programme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with UKRI on the reasons for UKRI funded early career researchers have not had access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

The Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed to support employers whose operations have been severely affected by COVID-19 by providing them with a grant to help them to continue paying part of their employees’ wages who would otherwise have been laid off during this outbreak. The Government guidance states that where employers receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, we expect employers to use that money to continue to pay staff in the usual fashion – and correspondingly not furlough them. For many early career researchers supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), this would have been the case.

The Government has worked with UKRI to ensure that appropriate guidance on the use of the scheme was available on GOV.UK and accessible through the UKRI website. A number of other measures have also been announced to support researchers affected by the pandemic. On 9 April, UKRI announced costed extensions of up to 6 months for PhD students in their final year whose research had been affected. On 27 June, £260 million of funding was announced for organisations to sustain UKRI grant-funded research and fellowships.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that UK steel is at the heart of the Government’s post-covid-19 outbreak rebuild and recovery strategy.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

In his speech of 30 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that as we recover from COVID-19, we must build back better, greener, and faster, ensuring that our economy is cleaner, more sustainable, and more resilient. This applies to all sectors of the economy, including those which are currently seen as difficult to decarbonise, such as steel.

The Government is supporting the steel sector throughout this difficult period, as well as providing the £250 million Clean Steel Fund, which will help UK steel producers to reduce emissions in line with our target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is complemented by the £315 million Industrial Energy Transformation fund to help energy intensive industries, such as steel, transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources.

The Department publishes a pipeline, identifying future steel requirements for all public infrastructure and construction projects annually. An update of this pipeline will be published shortly. We have also introduced steel-specific procurement guidance that requires Government Departments and public bodies to consider social and environmental factors when procuring steel.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK steel is promoted in the Government’s post-covid-19 rebuild and recovery strategy.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

In his speech of 30 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that as we recover from COVID-19, we must build back better, greener and faster, ensuring that our economy will be cleaner, more sustainable, and more resilient. This applies to all sectors of the economy, including those which are currently seen as difficult to decarbonise, such as steel.

The Government is supporting the steel sector throughout this difficult period, as well as providing the £250 million Clean Steel Fund, which will help UK steel producers to reduce emissions in line with our target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is complemented by the £315 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to help energy intensive industries, such as steel, transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources.

The Department publishes a pipeline, identifying future steel requirements for all public infrastructure and construction projects annually. An update of this pipeline will be published shortly. We have also introduced steel-specific procurement guidance that requires Government Departments and public bodies to consider social and environmental factors when procuring steel.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to prevent unsafe toys being sold by third party sellers on online marketplaces.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The UK has a strong product safety system which requires that products, including toys, should be safe before they can be placed on the market, including those sold online.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards works proactively with major online platforms to ensure that they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe goods.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to enable the beauty industry to resume facial treatments as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Answer (Paul Scully)

As set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on 17 July, close contact services including treatments to the face are allowed to resume as of 1 August, as long as they operate in a COVID-secure way.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether employers should calculate (a) redundancy and (b) notice pay based on (i) employees' salary; and what the relevance of payments through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is to those calculations.

Answer (Paul Scully)

During this difficult period, we urge employers to exercise discretion and not use the Job Retention Scheme to make someone redundant on less favourable terms than they would otherwise have received.

The provisions relating to calculation of redundancy and notice pay under the Employment Rights Act continue to apply when an individual is on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Employees who are dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfy certain qualifying conditions are statutorily entitled to a lump sum from their employer, based on their age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper limit, payable at, or soon after, the dismissal date.

Employees are also eligible for notice pay if they have worked for at least one month for their employers. The entitlements include one week’s notice if employed between one month and 2 years and an additional week’s notice for each year employed more than 2 years, capped at 12 weeks.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to review his decision on reopening beauty salons to ensure that facial services for women are provided on an equal footing to grooming services for men.

Answer (Paul Scully)

As set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on 17 July, close contact services including treatments to the face are allowed to resume as of 1 August, as long as they operate in a COVID-secure way.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the hospitality sector of many of their suppliers going out of business; and what further support is available to prevent this.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have been in regular contact with representatives from the hospitality sector, including suppliers, to ensure that we support them during and after the Covid-19 crisis. A number of measures are available to support suppliers to the hospitality industry, such as access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and government backed loans. Suppliers to badly hit sectors such as hospitality may also be able to access the Discretionary Grant Fund which provides business support grants to businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis at the discretion of Local Authorities.

The Government is providing additional measures to support the hospitality sector itself, including a VAT reduction to 5% and the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to assist food and drink wholesalers who had their trade credit limits (a) reduced or (b) withdrawn by insurers in advance of the full re-opening of the hospitality sector.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government’s Trade Credit Reinsurance Scheme will see the majority of Trade Credit Insurance coverage maintained for businesses across the UK. The Scheme operates as a reinsurance arrangement which will see trade credit insurers continuing to write and maintain cover to business throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

We expect to finalise details of the scheme with both insurers and the European Commission soon. Contractual agreements with insurers will be signed shortly afterwards allowing cover that has previously been reduced or withdrawn to be reinstated. If a business feels that their coverage has been withdrawn unfairly they should contact either their previous insurer about reinstating cover, or look to arrange new cover under the same conditions as their previous coverage.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to high street shops and supermarkets on the price of (a) 3-ply face masks and (b) other personal protective equipment.

Answer (Paul Scully)

The Government is clear that it is absolutely unacceptable to exploit the Covid-19 pandemic for financial gain. The vast majority of businesses have acted responsibly during the national effort to tackle Covid-19.

Reports of profiteering on key products such as masks, other PPE and hand sanitizer have fallen significantly as supply chains return to normal, with suppliers scaling up production and sourcing alternative supplies. BEIS Ministers have met with suppliers, retailers and consumer representatives, and continue to monitor these reports to assess any further steps necessary.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) digital skills and (b) cyber skills; and to whom that funding has been allocated.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy does not provide direct funding for digital or cyber skills in the UK: the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) lead on this policy area. I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by my Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Digital and Culture on 17th July 2020 to Question 72907.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the role of energy flexibility in managing local constraints resulting from increased electric vehicle charging.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government is working on a range of measures to realise the benefits of a smarter and more flexible energy system. We are delivering the actions in the Government’s Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan to remove barriers to smart technologies such as storage and improve access to energy markets for new business models.

Smart charging of electric vehicles during off-peak periods when electricity demand is low can help avoid triggering unnecessary network reinforcement. Furthermore, this technology helps utilise renewable energy and can benefit consumers with cheaper electricity. The Future Energy Scenarios (FES) 2019 produced by National Grid predicts that smart charging could by 2030 shift nearly 50% of EV demand away from peak times. Vehicle-to-Grid technology, where electric vehicles provide power back to local networks, presents an opportunity for EVs to be a significant electricity storage resource.

Next year we intend to mandate that all new private chargepoints must have smart functionality and in 2018 we invested £30 million to support vehicle-to-grid technology. The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce reported in January 2020, making 21 proposals on how we can maximise the uptake of smart charging and ensure the energy system is ready for electric vehicles.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that funding allocated to the economic recovery supports meeting the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear our intention to build back greener. We are taking action in every sector of the economy: we announced over £3 billion for decarbonising the UK’s buildings and delivering green jobs; £1 billion for charging infrastructure and extending Plug in-Grants to 2023 for ultra-low emission vehicles; £800 million to capture carbon from power stations and industry; £640 million Nature for Climate Fund; and £100 million R&D into Direct Air Capture.

In March, we published the first phase of our transport decarbonisation plan and will be setting our further plans on energy, heat and buildings and the natural environment later this year and early next year, in the run up to COP26.

We will continue to build on these steps and deliver a stronger, greener, more sustainable economy after this pandemic.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

What discussions his Department held with the Tees Valley Mayor on Government support for Sirius Minerals before the sale of that company.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

My colleagues and I are in regular contact with the Tees Valley Mayor to discuss many issues, including Sirius Minerals. The Mayor is a passionate advocate for the area and we support him.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

What steps his Department is taking to tackle climate change.

Answer (Alok Sharma)

The UK has demonstrated that clean, green growth is absolutely possible.

Between 1990 and 2018 we grew our economy by 75 per cent, whilst cutting emissions by 43%.

In his Summer Statement, my Rt hon Friend, Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer set out £3 billion pounds to improve the energy efficiency of homes and public buildings which will also support around 140,000 green jobs.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

What steps his Department is taking to enable (a) beauty salons and (b) other businesses to conduct facial treatments in a covid-secure way.

Answer (Paul Scully)

We have worked closely with the sector and public health experts to ensure we now have the confidence that these services can resume safely on 1 August and in line with COVID-secure guidelines.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to enable landlords to claim vouchers under his newly announced Green Homes Grant scheme; and who will be eligible to apply for funding under that scheme.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Further detail on the scheme will be announced in due course before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the vouchers for green home improvements announced on 7 July 2020 can be backdated to avoid customers cancelling planned work between now and the introduction of the vouchers in September 2020.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a landlord that receives funding from the Government's energy efficiency voucher scheme is prevented from raising the level of (a) energy bills, (b) rent and (c) service charges applied to tenants as a result of work financed by that voucher scheme.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Low income households will receive a higher rate of subsidy of up to 100% of the cost of measures.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) private and (b) social sector tenants will be able to require their landlord to access the Government's energy efficiency voucher scheme to upgrade their property.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Low income households will receive a higher rate of subsidy of up to 100% of the cost of measures.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether housing associations that manage properties subject to overarching PFI arrangements and were previously excluded from Government funding schemes to remove and replace flammable ACM cladding, will be entitled to access the Government's energy efficiency voucher scheme to upgrade those properties.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Low income households will receive a higher rate of subsidy of up to 100% of the cost of measures.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities will be able to access the Government's efficiency voucher scheme to upgrade properties on behalf of their tenants.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Low income households will receive a higher rate of subsidy of up to 100% of the cost of measures.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has in place to enable social housing renters in Salford to access the energy efficiency voucher scheme; and at what income threshold those renters will qualify for the maximum grant.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery. Low income households will receive a higher rate of subsidy of up to 100% of the cost of measures.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has in place to enable (a) private renters, (b) leaseholders and (c) people engaged in part ownership schemes in Salford to access the energy efficiency voucher scheme; and what income threshold he plans to put in place for each category to qualify for the maximum grant.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the energy efficiency voucher scheme directly assists people affected by fuel poverty.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. Further detail on the scheme will be announced in due course, before the full launch of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer entitled Summer Economic Update, Official Report, column 973, whether tenants can insist that their landlord applies for a green homes grant.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer entitled Summer Economic Update, Official Report, column 973, whether private rented sector tenants may apply for the green homes grant qualify for the full £10,000 if they are on a low income.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch of the scheme. Low income households will receive a higher rate of subsidy of up to 100% of the cost of measures.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that Ofgem policies support an investment-led green economic recovery.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Ofgem, as the independent expert regulator, has an important role in the transition to net zero. Its principle duty is to protect the interests of existing and future consumers, and this includes consumers’ interests in the reduction of targeted greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and gas supply. Ofgem also has a duty to have regard to the effect on the environment of activities connected with the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and gas. These duties are set out in Part 1 of the Gas Act 1986 and Electricity Act 1989.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem – by law Government has no role. In its RIIO-2 Draft Determinations Ofgem has announced £3bn of upfront funding to connect green electricity sources and transmission grid upgrades. In addition, Ofgem is introducing mechanisms to inject £10bn or more of additional funding that companies can access over the price control to drive decarbonisation and infrastructure upgrades as required, and help to drive green and resilient economic recovery.

In its Decarbonisation Action Plan (link to Plan here), Ofgem stated that it would be ‘reviewing the way our energy systems are managed to ensure they are fit for a net-zero future’.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the publication of the RIIO-2 Draft Determinations for Transmission, Gas Distribution and Electricity System, whether he plans to align Ofgem’s remit to net zero.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Ofgem, as the independent expert regulator, has an important role in the transition to net zero. Its principle duty is to protect the interests of existing and future consumers, and this includes consumers’ interests in the reduction of targeted greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and gas supply. Ofgem also has a duty to have regard to the effect on the environment of activities connected with the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and gas. These duties are set out in Part 1 of the Gas Act 1986 and Electricity Act 1989.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem – by law Government has no role. In its RIIO-2 Draft Determinations Ofgem has announced £3bn of upfront funding to connect green electricity sources and transmission grid upgrades. In addition, Ofgem is introducing mechanisms to inject £10bn or more of additional funding that companies can access over the price control to drive decarbonisation and infrastructure upgrades as required, and help to drive green and resilient economic recovery.

In its Decarbonisation Action Plan (link to Plan here), Ofgem stated that it would be ‘reviewing the way our energy systems are managed to ensure they are fit for a net-zero future’.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the compliance of Ofgem's RIIO-2 Draft Determinations for Transmission, Gas Distribution and Electricity System Operator with the UK's net zero target.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Ofgem, as the independent expert regulator, has an important role in the transition to net zero. Its principle duty is to protect the interests of existing and future consumers, and this includes consumers’ interests in the reduction of targeted greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and gas supply. Ofgem also has a duty to have regard to the effect on the environment of activities connected with the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and gas. These duties are set out in Part 1 of the Gas Act 1986 and Electricity Act 1989.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem – by law Government has no role. In its RIIO-2 Draft Determinations Ofgem has announced £3bn of upfront funding to connect green electricity sources and transmission grid upgrades. In addition, Ofgem is introducing mechanisms to inject £10bn or more of additional funding that companies can access over the price control to drive decarbonisation and infrastructure upgrades as required, and help to drive green and resilient economic recovery.

In its Decarbonisation Action Plan (link to Plan here), Ofgem stated that it would be ‘reviewing the way our energy systems are managed to ensure they are fit for a net-zero future’.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding his Department (a) has supplied to the Hartley Anderson Group in the last year and (b) will supply to that group in the coming year for the investigation of deflagration as a method of unexploded ordnance disposal.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Department’s contractor for provision of project management for the maintenance of Strategic Environmental Assessments, Hartley Anderson Ltd, commissioned the National Physical Laboratory for this project. Funding for financial year 2019-2020 totalled £221,000 (excl. VAT), which includes third party costs for munition manufacture and experimental site hire.

The funding allocated to this project to date in financial year 2020-2021 is £7,500 (excl. VAT).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the recently released report on European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) by the French Court of Audit (Cours des Comptes); what assessment he has made of the implications for the financial underwriting provided by the Government to EDF for the Hinkley C EPR project of the Court of Audit finding that the project represents a high financial risk; and what discussions he has held with EDF officials on the future costing of the Hinkley C project.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The Government is aware of the report on European Pressurised Reactors, which was published on the Cour des Comptes webpage on 9 July 2020. EDF, as the lead investor in Hinkley Point C, is responsible for the project’s funding and construction schedule. Any additional costs incurred are the responsibility of EDF and its fellow shareholders in the project, and will not fall on taxpayers or consumers.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the Internal Review prepared for the EDF Board in 2015 conducted by Yannick d’Escatha on the economic viability of the European Pressurised Reactor being built at Hinkley; and when he first became aware of that report.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

The Internal Review was a matter for EDF and was widely known about at the time; for example, it was referred to in a press release issued by EDF on 12 March 2016.

The Government conducted due diligence on the project before entering into the contractual agreements. EDF, as the lead investor in Hinkley Point C, is responsible for the project’s funding and construction schedule. Any additional costs incurred are the responsibility of EDF, and its fellow shareholders in the project, and will not fall on taxpayers or consumers.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has been made of the implications for his policies of the Association of Medical Research Charities’ proposal for a Life Sciences-Charity Partnership Fund.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

Ministers in BEIS and officials have met regularly with the Association of Medical Research Charities and their members over the last months and we are aware of their proposal for a Life Sciences-Charity Partnership.

On 27th June, we announced a major package of support for universities to help them continue research and innovation activities being impacted by Covid-19. This will aim to address the broader set of issues facing the university research sector. From the Autumn, Government will provide a package consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants, to cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 20/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity, including from charities.

Universities will be asked to demonstrate how these funds are being utilised to sustain research in areas typically funded by charities and business, for example to protect areas of medical research that have been developed in part with support of charities. We continue to engage with medical research charities as the details of the package are developed.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to the charity-funded research sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answer (Amanda Solloway)

On 27th June, we announced a major package of support for universities to help them continue research and innovation activities being impacted by Covid-19. This will aim to support the University research base as a whole. From the Autumn, Government will provide a package consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants, to cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 20/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity, including from charities.

Universities will be asked to demonstrate how these funds are being utilised to sustain research in areas typically funded by charities and business, for example to protect areas of medical research that have been developed in part with support of charities. We continue to engage with the sector as the details of the package are developed.

Charities will also benefit from the £750 million package announced in April to ensure Voluntary, Community and social Enterprises, including medical research charities, can continue their vital work supporting the country during the coronavirus outbreak. Charities also had access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, will pay no business rates for their shops next year and can get a Business Interruption Loan.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Energy White Paper will include an assessment of the role of flexibility in meeting net zero climate targets.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has set out his intention to publish the Energy White Paper this Autumn.

The Energy White Paper will address the transformation of our energy system as we deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, including the importance of flexibility.

We have taken clear actions to enable flexibility through our Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan, including reforming markets so that they properly reward flexibility, removing barriers for flexible technologies, and investing in flexible innovation.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the role of energy flexibility in managing local network constraints resulting from increased electric vehicle charging.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Government is working on a range of measures to realise the benefits of a smarter and more flexible energy system. We are making good progress delivering the actions in the Government’s Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan to remove barriers to smart technologies such as storage and improve access to energy markets for new business models.

Smart charging of electric vehicles during off-peak periods when electricity demand is low can help avoid triggering unnecessary network reinforcement. Furthermore, this technology helps utilise renewable energy and can benefit consumers with cheaper electricity. The Future Energy Scenarios (FES) 2019 produced by National Grid predicts that smart charging could by 2030 shift nearly 50% of EV demand away from peak times. Vehicle-to-Grid technology, where electric vehicles provide power back to local networks, presents an opportunity for EVs to be a significant electricity storage resource.

Next year we intend to mandate that all new private chargepoints must have smart functionality and in 2018 we invested £30 million to support vehicle-to-grid technology. The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce reported in January 2020, making 21 proposals on how we can maximise the uptake of smart charging and ensure the energy system is ready for electric vehicles.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on launching the Brunel challenge to support UK manufacturers in the (a) aerospace sector and (b) other high value manufacturing sectors.

Answer (Nadhim Zahawi)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave my Hon. Friend the Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke on 13 July 2020 to Question 71029.

The Government recognises the value of British engineering capability and innovation. That is why we have already invested nearly £2 billion in the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, providing advice on market opportunities and technology. We have also committed with industry around £1 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, to research, develop, and commercialise the next generation of low carbon technologies to keep the UK at the cutting edge of low carbon automotive innovations. We are also supporting the innovation of digital design through the £147 million Manufacturing Made Smarter Challenge.

At the last Budget, we set out plans for public investment in research and development to reach £22 billion each year by 2024/25, which is a record increase in spending.

As part of the upcoming Spending Review we will consider proposals for this investment, of which the Brunel Challenge and slingshot is one of many.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of Ofgem’s consultation entitled, Review of smart metering costs in the default tariff cap: May 2020 statutory consultation on the number of smart meters energy suppliers that can be installed; and how many Engineers would be required to undertake that work.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap, Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 2.54 of the July 2020 Plan for Jobs CP 261, what estimate he has made of the number of homes that will benefit from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The Summer Economic Update announced £50m to demonstrate innovative approaches to retrofitting social housing at scale, accelerating the delivery of the Social Housing Decarbonisation. This will mean warmer and more energy efficient homes and could reduce annual energy bills by hundreds of pounds for some of the poorest households, as well as lowering carbon emissions. The Programme will be UK wide and will upgrade thousands of poor energy performing social homes, with high levels of energy efficiency (e.g. floor / wall insulation) and low carbon heating (where appropriate).

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of any reduction by Ofgem in the smart metering programme allowances under the default tariff cap on the (a) pace of the roll-out and (b) number of workers undertaking that work.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Since 2013, energy suppliers have been required to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters in homes and small businesses. How they plan for, manage and fund the activity needed to meet this obligation is a matter for individual energy suppliers.

It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that energy suppliers have adequate funding to support his Department’s ambition to install a smart meter in every (a) home and (b) small business.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Since 2013, energy suppliers have been required to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters in homes and small businesses. How they plan for, manage and fund the activity needed to meet this obligation is a matter for individual energy suppliers.

It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in (a) Kent and Medway and (b) Canterbury district council area are affected by fuel poverty.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

The latest sub-national fuel poverty statistics for 2018 show a) 68,000 households in Kent and Medway estimated as fuel poor, and b) 6,600 households in Canterbury.

These figures are derived from Fuel Poverty Sub-regional tables at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2020.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many social housing properties in Canterbury district council area have an EPC energy efficiency rating of (a) F and (b) G.

Answer (Kwasi Kwarteng)

Estimates for the total number of homes by tenure and EPC energy efficiency rating for England are made using the English Housing Survey. Due to small sample sizes, these estimates cannot be made for local authorities. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2018-energy-report

Do you have an innovative idea to support greener financial systems or electrify urban transport in Asia or Latin America? Register for regional webinars for the #UKPACT Green Recovery Challenge Fund👇 https://t.co/o3Wyp7hVaM #TacklingClimateChange #ICF #ODA https://t.co/HirVx5wHS5

#EatOutToHelpOut starts today! Registered restaurants can offer 50% off meals and claim the discount back from @HMRCgovuk, helping their customers #EnjoySummerSafely It's not too late to register your business - find out more: https://t.co/JeuLtblKtS https://t.co/47gKU7stAk

A facility in Wales could start manufacturing #coronavirus vaccines as early as next month. Our partnership with Wockhardt will ensure people in the UK receive a safe and effective vaccine as soon as possible once available. https://t.co/tWquhJFytW #FightingCoronavirus https://t.co/kdI9Do8YVQ

Did you know that more @F1 Grand Prix cars are made in the UK than any other country? Britain is a global destination for automotive innovation, employing approximately 80% of the world’s top motorsport engineers. #BritishGP #F1IsGREAT #UnleashingInnovation https://t.co/EP7rzCMzte

In Yorkshire & Humber, we've spent over £1bn in #coronavirus grants on over 100k business properties, protecting jobs, including in tourism and hospitality. These small businesses can now help their customers #EnjoySummerSafely this #YorkshireDay 👉 https://t.co/jsGETBuFA3 https://t.co/PMlPusRjeX

This #YorkshireDay we thank the innovative Yorkshire businesses doing their part to keep their workplaces safe and protect employees. Businesses like @Portakabin_R , who told us how they are ensuring safe working in their York site. Check the guidance: https://t.co/i7nAAuMeMN https://t.co/xApneLXzZF

Be part of the fightback against #coronavius - sign up to the vaccine research register. Volunteer now to help speed up vaccine research ⬇️ https://t.co/DH6l8uwrww #UnleashingInnovation #BePartOfResearch https://t.co/jhaPXW5BA9

The UK generated a record 37% of electricity from renewables last year⚡️ Wind power provided over half our renewable capacity💨 Renewables share of our electricity mix has increased tenfold since 2004📈 More stats here👇🏽 https://t.co/Y8gvRURuXb #TacklingClimateChange https://t.co/5pG5kvYfDq

The UK internal market has been integrated for hundreds of years. Our approach will ensure devolved areas stay devolved, while protecting our economy and jobs by keeping the whole UK trading seamlessly. Get the facts and contribute to the consultation: https://t.co/AaNSi3EhLu https://t.co/GHemofvcDp

We have introduced new laws to protect furloughed employees facing redundancy, ensuring they are not short-changed and receive redundancy pay based on their normal wages. Read more: https://t.co/hVV79Z8GqD

Funding from the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund has helped @MHRAgovuk create new synthetic datasets to assist #COVID19 and cardiovascular research and support innovation in medicine. Read more 👇 https://t.co/XJYpqr4JwS

COAL In the last 10 years coal use has fallen by 84% 📉 Coal power is at a historic low - earlier this year Britain went a record 2 months without coal 🙌 Latest stats on our world-leading shift to clean energy👇 https://t.co/906LEjSGTq #TacklingClimateChange https://t.co/vWc9VWeGgz

Final checks are taking place for the @NASAPersevere mission to Mars 🚀 This global mission includes UK scientists who will help answer the eternal question - was there life on Mars? Join the #CountdowntoMars and watch the lift off LIVE 12:50 BST https://t.co/CkqOI2xlrJ

Great to see another big company #TacklingClimateChange as @Waitrose and @jlandpartners start making customer deliveries in electric vans ⚡ We must work together towards our green recovery. 🚛 https://t.co/42Xy7eJ7ka #UnleashingInnovation

From 1 August, we’re giving employers more discretion over how staff continue to work safely. Staff can return to workplaces that are COVID-19 Secure, as well as working from home. Check the #WorkingSafely guidelines for your workplace: https://t.co/YirhoxgBGw https://t.co/gi4PqQ2qJu

We've secured early access to another promising #coronavirus vaccine. The agreement with @GSK and @Sanofi means we've now secured 250 million potential doses, increasing our chances of getting access to a safe and effective vaccine. https://t.co/noBj0ts9jz #VaccinesWork https://t.co/eADou6hXS8

Great news that businesses like @NandosUK are using innovative solutions to reduce their carbon footprint as part of our clean, green recovery. Tag a mate who loves a cheeky Nando’s 🍗 https://t.co/JhKDoDvPBU #TacklingClimateChange

British scientists will play a major role in the exploration of Mars - don't forget to watch the launch of @NASAPersevere live 🚀 Set yourself a reminder and tune in at 12:50 BST on Thursday 🌌 #CountdownToMars https://t.co/kkx3fEkjhS

Welcome back to reopening gyms - helping us #EnjoySummerSafely 🏋🏿🏃 That includes @thefittingrooms in Southwark. See how director Yasmin adapted her business during lockdown - moving outdoors for socially distanced training ▶️ Reopening? Check: https://t.co/ZTp6tR1swp https://t.co/wMKMSemDR8

Zero-carbon buildings could use their roofs, walls and windows to generate power through next-gen solar tech ☀️ Find out more about our investment in super-efficient solar cells and their potential impact ⬇️ https://t.co/rutb0pruZa #TacklingClimateChange @UKRI_News https://t.co/4pwHxBj0yA

From 1 Aug, if prevalence of #coronavirus stays around or below current levels, remaining beauty services can reopen, like: - Facial treatments - Eyebrow treatments - Make-up application #EnjoySummerSafely 👉https://t.co/8w76z0BHyy https://t.co/EJHHGWtDId

We are updating the law to make transfer of ownership rules fairer for consumers. Changes will give you a better chance of receiving pre-paid for goods if a retailer goes insolvent. Find out more: https://t.co/B3b74QXG22

Could seaweed replace single use plastic?🥤🥬 Find out how Rodrigo Garcia of @Notpla (formerly Skipping Rocks Lab) is developing edible seaweed-based sauce sachets as a natural alternative for plastic👇🏽 #TacklingClimateChange @UKRI_News #PlasticFreeJuly https://t.co/y9KqxmfVkF

Your @NHSuk needs you. Be part of the fightback against #coronavius by signing up to the vaccine research register. Volunteer now to help speed up vaccine research https://t.co/wJTHfmWpKh #UnleashingInnovation #BePartOfResearch https://t.co/ZSK5qIPfD6

From today, customers must wear a face covering in shops, supermarkets, shopping centres, banks and post offices. This will help keep businesses #WorkingSafely and help customers #EnjoySummerSafely. Check our updated guidance for your business: https://t.co/s6zwHXgY4u https://t.co/KGpgLVYHwg

Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity generation from January to June this year🌱 The UK passed the same milestone in April 🇬🇧 We’re leading the world in #TacklingClimateChange and this year saw a record-breaking 2 months without coal🌍 https://t.co/4XiXk3IMc2

Innovation will drive forward the low carbon, electric technologies of the future and support our economic recovery. @lotuscars are investing in jobs in the Midlands with a new technology centre at @warwickuni ⬇️ https://t.co/56R1SDpeMC #UnleashingInnovation #BackingBusiness

£100m investment in a new vaccine manufacturing centre and skills will ensure the UK can produce millions of #coronavirus vaccine doses each month. This will increase our ability to respond to diseases and future pandemics. ⬇️ https://t.co/o603BgmFXG #UnleashingInnovation https://t.co/1EVRP3hTgk

Cars and vehicles are becoming cleaner and greener. Electric cars will be easier and cheaper to build thanks to new tech like efficient electric motors and gigafactories for more powerful batteries 🔋 https://t.co/fjYXiwM5mC #TacklingClimateChange #UnleashingInnovation https://t.co/vo1H5r08So

The Business and Planning Bill has received Royal Assent today. This will help pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants to make the most of the crucial summer months. It supports jobs and the economy - and helps us all to #EnjoySummerSafely https://t.co/2zfzDV152R

We’re building a greener future for the construction industry. 28 UK projects from Bath to Glasgow will: 👷🏽‍♀‍ construct buildings using AI & digital tech 🧩 use modular construction 📉 cut waste, emissions & costs https://t.co/53TkH3gKcl #TacklingClimateChange https://t.co/NrW3fPkFBg

Have you booked in to get your nails done yet?💅🏽 We popped into nail bar and café, London Grace, to see how they’ve reopened and hear how their customers are excited to ‘do something normal again in a safe and controlled environment’. #BackingBusiness #EnjoySummerSafely https://t.co/lB7SGJfTH0

We’re pleased to announce Professor Paul Monks will join BEIS as our new Chief Scientific Adviser from 1 October. @psmonks joins from @uniofleicester where his research experience covers areas of air quality, atmospheric composition and climate change. https://t.co/2KsDmFNtay https://t.co/mGXE983NB7

We’re fuelling the green recovery by investing £350m in innovation to: 📉 cut heavy industrial emissions 👷🏽‍♀️ advance construction 🛰 monitor #climatechange with space tech 🚗 improve electric vehicles https://t.co/wgP892fgv6 #TacklingClimateChange #UnleashingInnovation https://t.co/BcFLk7R8Fv

We’re helping protect the lungs of the planet 🌿 🌎 Our Partnerships for Forests programme is supporting local farmers and businesses fight deforestation and restore the equivalent of approximately 1,680 football pitches. https://t.co/uyqUFNDDUK https://t.co/GjrGwryUkk