Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of their strategy for the diversification of energy supply, they will re-examine proposals for the construction of a Mersey barrage to generate tidal power.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains open to well-developed proposals for harnessing tidal range energy, provided that such proposals can demonstrate energy system benefits, plausible environmental impact mitigation strategies, and value for money.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - 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 report by Global Witness in its article European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion, published on 25 March, that energy companies including BP, Shell and Exxon have paid an estimated $100 billion to Russia since the 2014 Crimea invasion.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not seek to assess the commercial activities of companies carried out within the terms of the law.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
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 30 March (HL7007), whether they will bring forward proposals to require the specification of the country of origin or manufacture of all goods sold to consumers online.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As noted in my previous reply, the Government have no plans to introduce such a requirement on behalf of consumers.
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) apply across all business sectors. They prohibit all traders from engaging in unfair commercial practices in connection with the promotion, sale and supply of products to consumers.
Under the CPRs, traders are required to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions. The regulations prohibit commercial practices which omit or hide material information which the average consumer needs, according to the context, to make an informed choice, where such an omission causes or is likely to cause them to make a different choice (e.g. purchase goods or a service that would not otherwise have been purchased).
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - 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 report by Global Witness in its article TotalEnergies ships Russian crude on Russian tanker, despite chief exec promise, published on 23 March, that TotalEnergies has continued to transport oil from Russia to the UK and Europe, despite its CEO’s commitment not to take oil from Russia; and what, if any, steps they intend to take as a result.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced the Oil Taskforce on the 8th of March 2022. This is a joint government and industry group which will facilitate engagement and cooperation during the transition away from Russian oil and oil-related products by the end of 2022.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
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 March (HL6519), why no minute was kept of the meeting between a Minister and the China General Nuclear Power Group.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The meeting was declared as per standard government processes and was attended by officials alongside the Minister. Relevant officials were also made aware of developments following the meeting.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require internet retailers to declare countries of origin of items to purchasers in advance of their sale.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin.
Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs), traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products including in response to requests for information by consumers.
As with other elements of goods, the Government encourages consumers who are interested in a particular property of goods, including their origin, to ask the seller. If they are not happy with the reply, then they can shop elsewhere. If they suspect that the reply is not truthful, then they can take the matter up with their local authority Trading Standards Officers who enforce the CPRs.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was discussed at the meeting on 20 July 2021 between the China General Nuclear Power Group and the then Minister of State (Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change) at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government can confirm that a meeting between China General Nuclear (CGN) and the then Minister of State took place on 20 July 2021. The Department does not hold minutes for this meeting as set out in your request.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Callanan on 6 December (HL Deb, cols 1634–35), whether the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab will be considered under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 when it comes into force on 1 January 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is still considering the case. The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and will not hesitate to take further action if needed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce kite marking to products, indicating their origins, when (1) manufactured by slave labour in Xinjiang, or (2) believed to have been produced as part of a supply chain originating in Xinjiang, and exported to the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since leaving the EU, we have introduced the new UKCA marking to indicate that products comply with UK product regulations and are fit to be placed on the market in Great Britain. It is mandatory for most products currently covered by the ‘CE marking’ from 1 January 2023. The kitemarking is different to this and is owned and operated by the British Standards Institution.
On 12 January 2021, the UK Government announced a series of robust measures in respect of UK supply chains to help ensure that no British organisations – government or private sector, deliberately or inadvertently – are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities in Xinjiang. The measures announced include a review of export controls as they apply to Xinjiang, the introduction of financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply with their obligations under the Modern Slavery Act, increasing support for UK government bodies to exclude suppliers complicit in violations, and new, robust guidance to UK businesses on the specific risks faced by companies with links to the region. We will keep our policy response under close review.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply of Lord Callanan on 6 December (HL Deb, col 1635), whether the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab has been referred to the Competition and Merger Authority; and if so, what was the outcome.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State has powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to intervene in mergers and takeovers on specified public interest grounds, including national security. Such an intervention would involve an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.