Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation on 21 November (HCWS376), what proportion of the funding announced for the UK R&D sector they expect will be allocated to universities in Scotland; and what steps they are taking to ensure that universities in Scotland receive their full share of R&D funding.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s priority is to support the UK’s world class R&D sector. We have put in place this additional funding to shore up talent and invest in R&D infrastructure across the UK, while also aiming to secure the UK fusion sectors’ commercial leadership and capabilities.
We are committed to levelling up and where funding delivered via UKRI is England only, there will be an additional funding allocation for the Devolved administrations. The approach to funding distribution is being developed and my Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation has written to DA colleagues on this matter. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have for the improvement of productivity in business and manufacturing in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are strongly committed to supporting UK manufacturing, which plays a vital role in the UK economy by driving innovation, exports, job creation, and productivity growth.
We are also committed to ongoing engagement with industry to ensure?our manufacturers?have the support?they need to maintain production effectively. We have put in place an unprecedented package of Government support for businesses during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The Business Productivity Review announced a £56 million package of support and set out the steps we will take to boost business productivity, focusing on leadership and management skills, technology adoption, and external support. These measures will help businesses respond to and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic..
Through our Business Basics Programme, we are also testing new ways of encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including those in the manufacturing sector, to adopt tried and tested technology and management practices that can boost productivity.
Through the Made Smarter programme, we are investing up to £167 million to help UK manufacturers to adopt and innovate in industrial digital technologies that will make our firms more productive. We are investing up to £147 million for a Manufacturing Made Smarter Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programme to develop innovative solutions to manufacturing challenges, as well as £20 million through our Made Smarter North West Pilot to support up to 3000 manufacturing SMEs to adopt and exploit digital technologies to increase their productivity. This could add £115 million to the North West economy and increase productivity by up to 25% by 2030.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they are giving for research in artificial intelligence; and to which companies and institutions.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As of April 2019, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) investment in AI relevant research and innovation activities totals over £1bn. This breaks down as follows:
Businesses have matched £742m of Innovate UK and EPSRC investments by at least £265m cash and in-kind contributions. The Catapult network, supported by UKRI and additional third-party investments, also have a key role to play in this space in enabling AI and data capabilities across sectors and leveraging further private investment.
Almost 300 organisations receive funding from UKRI for AI research and innovation. Industry organisations receiving funding include, Five AI Ltd, Oxbotica Ltd, Nissan Motor Manufacturing, Westfield Sports Car Ltd, and Vivacity Labs Ltd. Our most active institutions in this area include; University College London, The University of Oxford, Imperial College London, The University of Manchester, and The University of Edinburgh.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (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 support the (1) aerospace, (2) aviation, and (3) automotive industries in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are supporting the aerospace industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) with £1.95 billion of funding for research and development (R&D), matched by industry, over 13 years up to 2026. UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is also providing £125 million to the Future Flight Challenge for research on greener ways of flying through advances in electric and autonomous flight technology, which is expected to generate an additional £175 million of match-funding from industry. We are also co-investing in aerospace productivity improvement and innovation programmes to support small and medium-sized businesses backed with over £135 million of public funding.
In addition, aerospace companies are currently drawing upon the unprecedented £330 billion package of additional COVID-19 business support measures that the Government has put in place. We are in discussion with the sector, through the AGP, about how to best support the industry to recover.
Aviation is also an important sector for the UK’s economy, and businesses across the industry will also be able to draw on our package of economic measures. This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital, two business interruption loan guarantee schemes for businesses of all sizes, Time to Pay flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees, and VAT deferrals.
If businesses across these sectors face severe and urgent financial difficulties due to COVID-19 following the Government’s cross-economy wage and financial interventions, we remain open to discussions about bespoke financial support as a last resort. Any intervention would need to protect the interests of taxpayers. Requests may be made formally, in writing, to the Business Secretary.
Furthermore, the Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Through our landmark Automotive Sector Deal, we have secured joint investment and long-term commitments to develop world-leading battery technologies, positioning the UK as the location of choice for the development and deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.
The Government, alongside industry, has jointly committed almost £1.5 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Faraday Battery Challenge to research, develop, and commercialise low-carbon automotive innovations. In October last year, we announced up to £1 billion of new money to support R&D to support electric vehicle manufacture.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government for a list of attendees at each of the meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies that have taken place since 1 January.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Her Majesty's Government (HMG) does not routinely publish the names of SAGE participants in line with advice from the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and standard procedure for COBR meetings, to which SAGE gives advice. For the COVID-19 response and to ensure transparency on who is contributing to the scientific advice being given to the Government, we have published the names of those participants who have agreed for their names to published at this point. HMG will publish the minutes of relevant SAGE meetings once the body stops convening on this emergency. The minutes will also list all of the attendees.
The names that have been published are available on the SAGE page on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use to appoint members to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
SAGE is not a membership body. The participants of SAGE depend on the nature of the emergency. There are roughly 20 scientists at each meeting, but they will not be the same people at every meeting. Expert participation varies depending on the subjects being discussed.
The Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Chief Medical Officer will decide who or what expertise is needed for each meeting, typically drawing from leading experts from within government and from the fields of academia and industry. As SAGE responds to emergencies the capacity for participants to respond quickly is also a factor.