Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made on the preparation of a Resilient Position Navigation and Timing Strategy; and how it addresses the UK replacement of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) system.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
BEIS has created a Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) team to strengthen cross-Government PNT resilience, in line with the 2021 Integrated Review commitment to strengthen the resilience of the PNT services on which the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure and economy depend.
The team will take forward the PNT agenda initially as a ‘concept demonstrator’ project to develop a cross-government position on national PNT resilience through a better understanding of national needs, risks, and mitigations. This includes consideration of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) type services. The team is building on the work already undertaken within Government on PNT.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord True on 25 October (HL Deb cols 1393–4), what changes, if any, were agreed as a result of a consultation with the King on clauses 16 and 19 of the Energy Prices Bill.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
King's consent was requested in relation to Clauses 16 and 19 of the Energy Prices Bill. These clauses could affect the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall or the personal property or interests of the Crown.
No changes were made as a result of the process of obtaining King’s consent.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord True on 25 October (HL Deb cols 1393–4), whether clauses 16 and 19 of the Energy Prices Bill refer to the King's (1) public, or (2) private, activities in respect of energy generation.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
King's consent was requested in relation to Clauses 16 and 19 of the Energy Prices Bill. These clauses could affect the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall or the personal property or interests of the Crown.
No changes were made as a result of the process of obtaining King’s consent.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a national plan to ensure that ports are adequately connected to energy networks, enabling them to develop the infrastructure needed to supply vessels powered by low and net zero emission propulsion fuel and technology.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In August 2022, the Government and Ofgem jointly published the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework. This sets out a shared vision for the transformation of the electricity network, that will ensure it can act as an enabler for a clean, secure, low-cost energy system and meet the electrification needs of wider sectors such as heat and transport. Electricity network regulation, including ensuring sufficient investment to deliver the capacity needed to meet demand, is a matter for Ofgem.
BEIS and DfT engage with each other regularly to understand the future demand on electricity network capacity and infrastructure not only from supplying vessels powered by low and zero emissions fuels, but also from installing shore power technology for use when a vessel is at berth.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish (1) the list of consultees for the draft Construction Contracts (England) Exclusion Order 2022, and (2) the list of projects excluded by this draft Order and their respective cost estimates.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A consultation took place with relevant construction industry and water sector stakeholders. Those consulted included construction trade and legal associations, individual contractor companies, consultancies, water utility companies and other government departments. A number of individual responses were also received. Consultees included:
In addition, engagement was undertaken with each Devolved Administration.
No projects are either included or excluded by the design of this measure, but to benefit from the Exclusion Order they would need to be consistent with the provisions of the statutory instrument. Projects designated for delivery by way of Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) need to satisfy various selection criteria including, that the estimated whole-life totex (i.e. capital expenditure plus operations and maintenance costs) of the project is likely to exceed a threshold (currently set at £100m), and that delivering the project via DPC has the potential to offer best value for money for customers compared to delivery by the relevant water undertaker.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - 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 April (HL7617), whether (1) an impact assessment, and (2) a value for money assessment, on the role of EGNOS in the UK was undertaken prior to 31 December 2020; if so, whether they will place copies in the Library of the House; and if not, what were the reasons.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Further to the answer I gave the noble Lord on 20th April 2022 to Question HL7617, it would not be appropriate for the Department to comment on any impact assessment or value for money assessment due to the ongoing commercial sensitivity around EU space programmes.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what engagement took place with the (1) aviation, (2) maritime, (3) agricultural, and (4) chartered surveying industries, to assess the role of EGNOS in the UK prior to 31 December 2020.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department did engage with both internal and external stakeholders on the decision not to participate. It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment on any value for money assessment given the ongoing commercial sensitivity around EU Space Programmes.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings with the (1) Civil Aviation Authority, and (2) UK Space Agency, were held with (a) ministers, and (b) officials, in (i) the Department for Transport, and (ii) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to discuss the role of EGNOS in the UK prior to 31 December 2020.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department did engage with both internal and external stakeholders on the decision not to participate. It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment on any value for money assessment given the ongoing commercial sensitivity around EU Space Programmes.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) an impact assessment, and (2) value for money assessment, on the role of EGNOS in the UK was undertaken prior to 31 December 2020; and if so, whether they will place copies in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department did engage with both internal and external stakeholders on the decision not to participate. It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment on any value for money assessment given the ongoing commercial sensitivity around EU Space Programmes.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to use Regulated Asset Base funding for projects with a long construction period for tidal range projects.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy in the bays and estuaries around our coastlines, including barrage schemes and other alternatives. Any such proposal would need to demonstrate strong evidence of value for money in the context of other renewable technologies, as well as details of its associated energy system benefits and environmental impact mitigation strategies before the Government could take a view on its potential or on the funding models appropriate for exploration.