Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Within the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators budget it is not possible to identify the membership costs for any individual member state. Details of their costs and the work they do are set out in their Programming Document[1] for 2017-2019.
In common with other EU agencies, as part of exit negotiations the government will discuss with the EU any potential future relationship with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the Euratom Supply Agency.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The European Supply Agency forms part of Euratom Treaty arrangements. The UK will leave the European Supply Agency at the same time that it leaves Euratom.
The nature of future arrangements with Euratom and the EU will be subject to negotiation which started this month. Our aim throughout the negotiations with the European Commission will be to maintain our mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with Euratom and the rest of the world.
The UK is keen to ensure that there is minimal disruption to civil nuclear trade following the UK’s withdrawal from Euratom. We have bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreements (NCAs) in place with several countries that we will continue to rely on after our exit from Euratom.
We intend to maintain continuity of cooperation with our international partners and will develop new arrangements as necessary.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the Euratom Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The EU’s Joint Undertaking for ITER (F4E) funds the €540m p.a. EU contribution to the ITER programme. This is funded primarily through the EU central budget with small additional membership fees from member states. The UK pays a €290,000 annual membership fee directly to F4E.
UK membership of F4E gives UK scientists and engineers the opportunity to work at, and in partnership with, ITER on development of fusion as a clean, safe and virtually inexhaustible energy source. It also gives the UK access to intellectual property developed at ITER and helps the UK maintain its position as a world leader in fusion technology.
F4E membership has enabled the UK to win high-value ITER construction contracts, with opportunities to bid for significantly more during the construction which has a current budget of €14.4bn overall and will be complete in 2025.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government recognises the importance of an effective and balanced intellectual property regime to support the UK's innovative and creative industries and to make the UK an attractive place for inward investment.
In order to inform our position in the upcoming negotiations with the EU, the Government continues to undertake a rigorous and extensive programme of analysis, which includes intellectual property. The UK's future relationship with the EUIPO will be a matter for negotiations and so it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the details of any analysis now.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency is funded from the European Union budget. It is a Union Agency established to deliver the EU’s satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS. The Agency will be responsible for operating the systems, managing the services provided and for promoting their adoption to create new industrial markets.
The Government recognises the benefits our involvement in these programmes brings for the UK.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend that the UK will continue to have access to the Internal Market Information System database.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
In leaving the EU, we want to achieve the best possible outcome and the strongest possible partnership – one that works for the UK and the EU. Good communication between our respective authorities will be important to securing this partnership. The future relationship between UK authorities and information sharing mechanisms such as the Internal Market Information System, will be determined in the course of our negotiations with the EU.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) informs and contributes towards better evidence-based policymaking in areas relevant to living and working conditions.
Eurofound is funded from a central EU budget and the UK has not made any additional voluntary financial contributions to the foundation.
Since the EU referendum vote, the UK has continued to participate in Eurofound. Future engagement between the UK and Eurofound will be considered as part of the broader EU exit negotiations.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the benefits and costs to the UK of membership of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the best possible outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union.
We support the objectives of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which include the creation of links integrating education and entrepreneurship to research to drive innovation.
As my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister has said, we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. However it is too early to speculate on the UK’s future relationship with the EIT.
Whatever happens in the future, the Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take in response to the recommendations by Baroness McGregor-Smith in her report <i>Race in the workplace</i> to eliminate racial discrimination in the workplace.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The business case for action has been made. While we know that many companies are already taking forward some of the recommended actions, more needs to be done. We set out in the Government response that we will be working with Business in the Community in supporting companies to make these changes including developing a simple guide on how to discuss race in the workplace, ensuring easy access to an online portal of best practice and celebrating success through a list of the top 100 BME employers. We will also monitor progress through the new Diversity and Inclusion Group, chaired by my hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 February (GC 207), what criteria will be used to monitor whether sufficient progress is made in giving effect to the recommendations by Baroness McGregor-Smith in her report <i>Race in the workplace </i>to eliminate racial discrimination in employment.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government welcomes Baroness McGregor-Smith’s report and encourages businesses to take forward her recommendations. The practicalities of implementation will differ depending on the business in question, but as we set out in the Government response, we will be working with Business in the Community in supporting companies to make these changes. My hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility has also announced that she will chair a new Business Diversity and Inclusion Group which will bring together some of the key figures leading work on this agenda to provide strategic leadership and ensure that we deliver a clear and coherent message to the business community on what they are expected to do.