Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of OneWeb’s planned use of Russian Soyuz rockets to launch satellites into space; whether the launch took place as planned on 4 March from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakstan: and what plans they have, if any, to end OneWeb’s reliance on Russian Soyuz rockets and launch facilities.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The OneWeb Board voted to suspend all launches from Baikonur, including the launch scheduled for 4 March, and the company are currently considering options for alternative launches. This exercise is commercially sensitive and a matter for OneWeb.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what effect new visa requirements have had on the movement of UK residents seeking employment in the tourism sector in Europe.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) contains provisions on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes (Mode IV), similar to the EU’s best precedent reached with Canada and Japan, with some improvements.
For short-stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to and within the Schengen Area, where they are undertaking a limited range of activities such as attending meetings, tourism, cultural or sporting events. Under the TCA with the EU, business travellers do not require a work permit to carry out certain short-term business travel activities, such as attending meetings and conferences, providing after sale-services, or translation and market research services, unless otherwise stated in the agreement. Some Member States allow additional activities without the need for a visa or work permit. The types of additional activities allowed differ by Member State, and UK nationals should check relevant rules before travelling.
For those undertaking longer-term stays or providing a service under a contract, a visa and/or work permit may be required. If you are travelling to several Member States for work purposes, you may need to apply for these documents for each country. UK nationals should therefore check the rules of each country they intend to travel to ahead of time.
We have published guidance on GOV.UK for businesses to support our new trading relationship with the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) adequacy, and (2) capacity, of roads around Sizewell C during construction.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The examination of the application for development consent for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station closed on 14 October 2021 and the Examining Authority is now writing its report which will set out its conclusions and recommendations on the proposals. The Secretary of State is due to receive the Examining Authority’s report by 14 January 2022. Given the quasi-judicial role of the Secretary of State in determining the application, I cannot comment on specific matters regarding the proposed project, as this could be seen as prejudicing the decision-making process. As is the case for all applications for development consent, the Secretary of State will consider all matters that are relevant when taking his decision on the project.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal can consider the treatment of 555 sub-postmasters who are now excluded from the shortfall scheme of financial consideration.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The revised Terms of Reference for the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry were announced by the Government on 19 May when the Inquiry was converted to a Statutory Inquiry. Last month, the Chair of the Inquiry set out his draft Lines of Inquiry. It will be for Sir Wyn Williams, as Chair of the Inquiry, to make whatever findings or recommendations that he sees fit.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the Competition and Markets Authority Electric Vehicle Charging market study, published on 23 July; and what steps they intend to take in response to the issues raised.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government agrees with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that a comprehensive and competitive charging network is essential to support the country’s transition to electric vehicles. In line with the CMA’s recommendations, an Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy will be published later this year.
The Government committed £1.3 billion to EV infrastructure at the 2020 Spending Review. This includes the £950 million Rapid Charging Fund which will ensure that every Motorway Service Area in England has the grid capacity it needs to support the growth in EV usage to 2035. The Government has allocated £275 million in extended support for chargepoint installation at homes, workplaces, and on-street locations, and a further £90 million to support the roll out of larger, on-street charging schemes and rapid hubs in England.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why higher education institutions and other providers of training for professional qualifications are not listed as stakeholders affected in the impact assessment for the Professional Qualifications Bill; whether higher education institutions or others providing such education and training were consulted on the proposals in that Bill; and if not, (1) why not, and (2) what plans they have to consult such providers in the future.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The impact assessment considers the costs and benefits of provisions in the Professional Qualifications Bill. The proposals in the Bill do not affect the UK qualifications or experience required to practise a profession.
The Government ran a Call for Evidence on the recognition of professional qualifications and the regulation of professions between August 2020 and October 2020, which was open to anyone with an interest in professional qualifications. We received 417 responses, of which 26 responses were from educators who provide training and higher education institutions.
Officials have met representatives from Universities UK to discuss proposals in the Professional Qualifications Bill and will continue to pursue an active programme of stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what investments they are making which are specifically targeted at (1) the science, and (2) the skills base, underpinning hydrogen technologies; and what plans they have to introduce a new policy framework for the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies as part of their decarbonisation strategy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and its forerunner, the Energy Innovation Programme, seek to accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon technologies, systems and business models. These programmes include the new £60 million Low-Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition which is aimed at accelerating the development of a wide range of innovative low-carbon hydrogen supply solutions; and the Hy4Heat Programme, which is working to establish if it is technically possible, safe and convenient to replace natural gas (methane) with hydrogen in residential and commercial buildings. Hy4Heat has worked with Energy & Utility Skills to develop a competency framework for skills accreditation for heating engineers working with hydrogen.
We have also delivered projects such as the £20 million Industrial Fuel Switching which includes the first demonstrations of firing hydrogen at commercial fuel supply scale for the manufacture of cement and lime. Furthermore, the £10 million Green Distilleries Competition is supporting nine feasibility studies for low-carbon hydrogen-related projects. BEIS has also let a contract to the University of Cambridge to explore the atmospheric impacts of hydrogen release.
My Rt.Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan was clear on our aim for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for use across the economy. The forthcoming Hydrogen Strategy will set out what is required to build a hydrogen economy fit for 2030, Carbon Budget 6 and beyond, whilst maximising economic benefits and supporting job and skills. We will also consult on priority policies, including hydrogen business models, a low carbon hydrogen standard, and the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on charity-funded medical research; what assessment they have made of any such impact on research funding for the university sector; and what steps they will take to make up any shortfalls in funding.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Baroness.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what value is attributed to a tonne of carbon in the Treasury’s Green Book; and whether they intend to publish the equivalent figures for each of the OECD countries.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Valuing changes in greenhouse gases, including carbon, is vital to ensure climate change impacts are taken into account when appraising and evaluating public policies and projects. Carbon values used during policy appraisal are published as part of the Green Book supplementary guidance: valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal. A summary of the current carbon values for 2030, 2040, 2050 is given in the table below (the full annual series can be found in table 3 of the attached). The Government is not intending to publish equivalent figures for each of the OECD countries.
Table 1: HMG’s Carbon Values for policy appraisal
£ per tonne of CO2-equivalent (real 2018 prices) | Low | Central | High |
2030 | 40 | 81 | 121 |
2040 | 78 | 156 | 234 |
2050 | 115 | 231 | 346 |
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many sub-postmasters were (1) prosecuted, and (2) convicted, on charges associated with the use of the Horizon computer system; and how long they estimate it will take to (a) review, and (b) resolve, compensation claims in connection with these cases.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.