Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what priority they will give to specific economic green development in West Cumbria in their post-COVID-19 reconstruction plans.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are seizing the initiative to build back better, greener, and faster from COVID-19. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution is part of the government’s mission to level up across the country, mobilising £12 billion of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs in the UK including in West Cumbria, helping recovery from the pandemic and spurring over three times as much private sector investment by 2030.
We have previously funded the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to produce the Cumbria Local Energy Plan helping businesses develop low carbon and renewable energy projects which will contribute to sustainable economic growth. As part of a restructuring of the North West Energy Hub, the Cumbria LEP will gain a dedicated Energy Officer to assist in the delivery of the Cumbria Local Energy Plan.
Over the coming months, we will bring forward further bold proposals to deliver on our ambitious climate commitments and further cement a green recovery from Covid-19, including a Net Zero Strategy, to cut emissions and create new jobs and industries across the whole country.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to develop opportunities for geothermal energy generation to help address climate change.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Opportunities for geothermal electricity generation in the UK are limited and only likely to be economically feasible in certain locations, such as the far South West of England. The Government is supporting the development of the United Downs Deep Geothermal Project in Cornwall.
The most promising use of geothermal energy in the UK is for low temperature applications such as district heating schemes. BEIS has been providing support to the deployment of district heat networks from geothermal through the Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) and the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP). We also announced a further £270m from 2022 to 2025 in the Green Heat Network Fund at the March budget and we will be consulting on eligibility criteria in due course.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - 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 implications of the School of Advanced Study’s proposals to close the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute of Latin American Studies (1) for the Commonwealth community, and (2) for the UK’s post-Brexit relations with Latin America; what representations they are making to the School of Advanced Study about the implications of these proposals; and what plans they have, if any, to provide support to help maintain these institutes.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Universities are independent, autonomous organisations and are therefore responsible for their decisions relating to research priorities and which activities to support. We would expect universities to regularly review and develop their strategic research priorities, and that this may result in some internal restructuring to better support these priorities.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to give immediate priority to the development of hydrogen as a potential source of energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to exploring the development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier. In line with this we are already investing up to £121m in hydrogen innovation across the value chain and are developing new policy to help bring forward the technologies and supply chain we will need to grow the UK hydrogen economy. This includes business models to support the deployment of, and investment in, low carbon hydrogen production and a £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund to stimulate capital investment. We will be engaging with industry on both schemes throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide legal enforcement for the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment “to ensure high standards of workers’ rights, environmental protection and consumer rights” post-Brexit; and whether any such steps will include upholding and enhancing all such existing rights and protections.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
In the Queen’s Speech the Government announced a new Employment Rights Bill which will include enhancing workers’ rights, encouraging flexible working, introducing an entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, and ensuring workers keep their hard earned tips.
The Government will also shortly be introducing the Environment Bill – which will strengthen environmental protections. The Bill will enshrine environmental principles in law. The Bill will also include measures to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution and restore habitats. It will create legally-binding environmental improvement targets and establish a new independent Office for Environmental Protection (OEP). This will collectively ensure that environmental ambition is at the heart of Government once we leave the EU.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action, if any, they are taking to ensure that UK withdrawal from Euratom does not diminish UK commitment to the continued development, implementation and improvement of the management of current and foreseeable spent fuel and radioactive waste.
Answered by Lord Henley
The UK has a robust regulatory framework in place for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, based on UK legislation that is underpinned by European and International standards. This framework will remain in place upon withdrawal from Euratom.
The UK will continue to meet its obligations under the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, which the UK is a Contracting Party to, and as a member of the International Atomic Energy Authority.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action, if any, they are taking to establish a state system of accountancy for safeguarded nuclear materials which will match that applied by Euratom.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government is working to implement a new domestic UK nuclear safeguards regime when Euratom arrangements no longer apply to the UK. The new regime will be regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and will be equivalent in effectiveness and coverage to that currently provided by Euratom.
Parliament has passed the Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 which provides the legal framework for setting up a domestic nuclear safeguards regime; and Government is consulting on draft Nuclear Safeguards Regulations, which set out the proposed detail of the regime.
The ONR will run the UK's State System of Accountancy and Control (SSAC) of Nuclear Material as part of the new domestic regime. The ONR is working to ensure it can have in place by 29 March 2019 the IT systems and safeguards inspectors needed to deliver safeguards arrangements that meet international standards and to build, over time, to coverage and effectiveness equivalent to Euratom.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that UK nuclear regulators retain at least associate status at European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group meetings in order to maintain alignment with EU nuclear regulatory developments and to continue to influence decisions that may affect the UK; and if so, how.
Answered by Lord Henley
Maintaining nuclear safety is and always will be a top priority for this Department. The UK has a well-established domestic civil nuclear safety regime which will continue to operate as now following the UK’s departure from the Euratom community.
Irrespective of our future relationship with Euratom, the UK will continue to be a committed and constructive member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and will continue to follow international standards on nuclear safety.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they are making to ensure that nuclear issues specifically relevant to the UK's relationship with the Republic of Ireland are reviewed before the UK withdrawal from Euratom is completed.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department regularly discusses matters of mutual interest in the nuclear field with government counterparts in the Republic of Ireland. The Department, in partnership with the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, holds a biannual Contact Group on Radiological Matters with Irish government officials and environmental regulators. This Contact Group provides an opportunity to exchange information and to discuss approaches on a wide range of nuclear issues, including Euratom Exit. This is in addition to the regular contact between Ministers in my Department and the Government of Ireland on a range of matters including energy.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to expedite an increase in the number of people in the Office for Nuclear Regulation and to fulfil the agreements recently reached with the International Atomic Energy Agency during and following withdrawal by the UK from Euratom.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Office for Nuclear Regulation is responsible for its own recruitment.
The ONR currently has more safeguards inspectors than its own instructed minimum and is continuing to recruit to ensure the UK can deliver a domestic safeguards regime that honours our international obligation.