Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the current operation of the UK energy market; and what plans they have, if any, to propose alternatives to the current operation.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has launched the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), following a commitment in the British Energy Security Strategy. The consultation closed on 10th October. REMA is a major review into Britain’s electricity market design, and is considering a broad range of reforms, from changes to existing arrangements that can be delivered from the mid-2020s, to enduring transformational reforms.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Energy Bill Support Scheme will be rolled out in Northern Ireland in November this year.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Households in Northern Ireland will receive a £400 discount on their energy bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme (NI EBSS) this winter.
This offers the same level of support as households in Great Britain are receiving under the Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS). The Government is working at pace to deliver a solution which accounts for the Northern Ireland market and to provide the support as soon as possible this winter.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to encourage (1) business, (2) industry, and (3) agriculture, to (a) participate in, and (b) install, alternative forms of energy generation such as wind, solar, or wood pellets.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government supports large-scale renewable generation through the Contracts for Difference Scheme.
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is the Government scheme that ensures businesses, industry and agriculture can have a route to market for exported generation from small scale and eligible technologies such as solar or wind.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides upfront grants of £5,000 towards the installation of biomass boilers with an installation capacity up to 45kWth.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of the (1) Pfizer, and (2) Moderna, vaccines they have purchased for children under the age of five; and when such vaccines will be made available to those children.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are no Covid-19 vaccines for under 5s currently approved for use in the UK, and as such we have not specifically procured vaccines for this cohort. The Government will continue monitoring developments and seek the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation going forward.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review employment law following the decision of P&O Ferries to dismiss its employees via a pre-recorded video.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking it to undertake an urgent and thorough enquiry into the recent actions of P&O Ferries, to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not.
The Insolvency Service confirmed on 01 April that following its enquiries it has initiated both formal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries.
You will appreciate that while these investigations are being progressed it would not be appropriate to make further comment but the Insolvency Service will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of P&O Ferries' decision to terminate the employment of its workforce via a pre-recorded video.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking it to undertake an urgent and thorough enquiry into the recent actions of P&O Ferries, to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not.
The Insolvency Service confirmed on 01 April that following its enquiries it has initiated both formal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries.
You will appreciate that while these investigations are being progressed it would not be appropriate to make further comment but the Insolvency Service will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the decision to ban the import of Russian oil into the UK, what financial protection is available to UK companies who chartered Russian oil tankers to deliver fuel to the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Russian ships have been banned from UK ports, following UK sanctions against Russia. The ban includes any vessels owned or operated by anyone connected to Russia.
The UK will also stop importing Russian oil by the end of this year, building on the Government’s package of international economic sanctions.
The Government is confident that this can be achieved over the course of the year, providing enough time for companies to adjust while ensuring consumers are protected. The Government is already providing support worth around £21 billion during this year, and next, to help people with the cost of living and will continue to monitor the economic impact of the conflict and keep its approach under review.
The Department for International Trade has expanded its Export Support Service (ESS) to act as a single point of enquiry for businesses and traders with questions relating to the situation in Ukraine and Russia. Any business that has question about trading with Ukraine or Russia can visit the GOV.UK website to contact the export support team, or call our helpline using the number 0300 303 8955.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the financial support they provided to the aerospace sector during the COVID-19 pandemic was allocated to aerospace manufacturers in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has put in place substantial cross-economy support measures to help the UK economy through this pandemic.
Due to the nature of these support measures, it is not possible to set out in full the proportion provided to the aerospace sector. However, we are able to confirm that UK aerospace manufacturers and their aviation customers, over the next 3 years, will benefit from £8 billion in export guarantees and have utilised up to £2.6 billion in Covid Corporate Financing Facility support. The Aerospace sector will also continue to be supported by the £150 million per annum Aerospace Technology Institute research and development programme and the £125 million Future Flight research and development programme.
These figures do not include other measures such as the Job Retention Scheme which, we know, the aerospace sector will also have benefited from.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made loan guarantees available to companies operating in the UK but who are registered offshore during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
SMEs which are registered abroad are eligible to apply for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), provided the SME is trading in the UK, not just selling into the UK, has the core of its business operations in the UK, and the CBILS Facility is deployed to support business activity in the UK.
The turnover threshold applies to global turnover of the SME or the consolidated group where that applies, but the CBILS scheme can only be used to support UK-based activity.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive, they are satisfied that they have sufficient authority to negotiate with, and offer financial or other support to, any potential buyer of Bombardier's aerospace structures division in Belfast.
Answered by Lord Henley
Bombardier’s Belfast plant, its expertise and its highly skilled and dedicated staff will be highly sought after. The Government will work with Invest Northern Ireland (INI) to support potential buyers to take this successful and ambitious business forward.