Found: Letter from Baroness Taylor of Bolton to Lord Callanan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister

Found: Letter from Lord Jay of Ewelme to Lord Callanan, re: Subsidy Control Bill, dated 21 January 2022 Correspondence

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response by Lord Callanan on 13 December (HL Deb, col 3) that the "evidence is independently audited", who undertakes such assessments; what percentage of imports are assessed; and how many independent audits have found that biomass products used have not met the sustainability criteria.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The assessments are performed by independent auditors who are qualified to perform assurance engagements in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised) and the relevant legislation (Article 84(3) of the Renewables Obligation Order 2015).

Annual sustainability audit reports are performed in line with the ISAE 3000 (Revised) standards. The auditor will select a limited assurance sample, taken from all biomass products, based on a risk assessment.

Ofgem publish independently verified information on how generators have reported against the sustainability criteria in their annual biomass datasets and RO annual reports, which can be found on Ofgem’s website. The information for Drax in these datasets shows that no instances have been found where fuels at Drax have been reported as unsustainable.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Callanan on 13 December (HL Deb, col 2), what are the "strict sustainability criteria" by which biomass operators abide; and whether these criteria allow operators to source wood pellets from virgin forests.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The UK has strict sustainability criteria in place for biomass use. For biomass power generation supported under the Renewables Obligation scheme, the sustainability criteria are outlined in Schedules 1, 2, and 3 of the Renewables Obligation Order, which are publicly available on the legislation.gov.uk 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 7 December (HL4418), for each member of the UK Endorsement Board what (1) relevant experience, or (2) training, they have had on the accounting standards in the Companies Act 2006 framework; what was the form of any such experience or training; to what level such training or experience was completed; and when such training or experience was completed.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

All members of the UK Endorsement Board were appointed following an open, transparent and rigorous recruitment process. The Board is comprised of a group of experts with a wealth of experience across different sectors including preparers of accounts, investors, academics and members of accounting firms. The Board has a diverse membership with a strong interest in the quality of financial reporting in the UK that will ensure that the UK’s contributions to developments in international accounting standards are world leading. Ongoing training for Board members focuses on new developments in financial and corporate reporting.

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 7 December (HL4418), for each member of the UK Endorsement Board what (1) training, or (2) experience they have had on corporate finance and solvency; what was the (a) form and (b) level of such training or experience; and when such training or experience was completed.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

All members of the UK Endorsement Board were appointed following an open, transparent and rigorous recruitment process. The Board is comprised of a group of experts with a wealth of experience across different sectors including preparers of accounts, investors, academics and members of accounting firms. The Board has a diverse membership with a strong interest in the quality of financial reporting in the UK that will ensure that the UK’s contributions to developments in international accounting standards are world leading. Ongoing training for Board members focuses on new developments in financial and corporate reporting.

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 7 December (HL4416), whether they consider 17 years a reasonable timescale to produce an accounting standard.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

I refer the noble Baroness to my previous response to question number HL4416, answered on 7 December 2021.

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 7 December (HL4413), what were the legal expenses to date of (1) the UK Accounting Standards Endorsement Board Limited, and (2) the UK Endorsement Board, by the name of (a) person, or (b) firm engaged; what was the cost of the advice in each case; and what were the dates of completion of tenders for the appointment of each of those engagements.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)

The UK Accounting Standards Endorsement Board Limited provides the operational facilities and resources to support the UK Endorsement Board’s activities.

The UK Endorsement Board is an independent unincorporated association and has autonomy of decision-making in relation to the functions conferred upon it. Procurement of legal advice in undertaking those functions is a matter for the UK Endorsement Board and BEIS has no role in this process.

Tomorrow afternoon our Sustainability of the Built Environment inquiry hears from: 2.15pm • Adam Mactavish, @curriebrown • Alexia Laird, @LandsecGroup 2.45pm • @EddieHughes4WN, @luhc • The Lord Callanan, @beisgovuk Watch live tomorrow from 2.15pm: https://t.co/2imd2TTmsJ 📺 https://t.co/7K5Dwdo5o4

On Wednesday our Sustainability of the Built Environment inquiry hears from: 2.15pm • @curriebrown • @LandsecGroup 2.45pm • @EddieHughes4WN, @luhc • The Lord Callanan, @beisgovuk 📺 Watch live on Wednesday 19 January from 2.15pm: https://t.co/2imd2UaXkh https://t.co/lMd9f4DHbF

Today our Sustainability of the Built Environment inquiry hears from: 2.15pm • Adam Mactavish, @curriebrown • Alexia Laird, @LandsecGroup 2.45pm • @EddieHughes4WN, @luhc • The Lord Callanan, @beisgovuk 👉 Watch live this afternoon from 2.15pm at https://t.co/2imd2TTmsJ https://t.co/19CAkIroyP

The second panel of today's Sustainability of the Built Environment evidence session, including @EddieHughes4WN, @luhc, and Lord Callanan, @beisgovuk, has started. Watch the session live at https://t.co/2imd2TTmsJ 🔍 https://t.co/cxnAM9UeKb

Lord Callanan, @beisgovuk: “We accept we need a standardised whole life carbon assessment methodology for the UK”. 📺Watch the evidence session live at https://t.co/2imd2TTmsJ 🎥 https://t.co/IIfsokJZaF

Found: Lord Callanan Minister for Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility 1 BEIS (2020) The ten point