Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the estimated energy savings that could be made by moving the UK to the GMT+2 hour time zone during the summer months, and to GMT+1 hour time zone for the rest of the year.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has no plans to change the daylight-saving arrangements.
The Government believes that the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the public register of beneficial owners of overseas entities will be available for public inspection in the UK.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The draft Registration of Overseas Entities bill was published on 23 July 2018. The Joint Committee for the draft bill carried out pre-legislative scrutiny earlier this year, with the Government publishing its response to the Committee’s report and recommendations on 18 July 2019. In the response, the Government accepted a number of the Committee’s recommendations and has been considering other recommendations to ensure that the legislation is as effective as possible in tackling the use of UK property for the purpose of money laundering.
It is essential that the new requirements are workable, proportionate and that the register strikes the right balance between improving transparency and minimising burdens on legitimate commercial activity. The Government intends to introduce the bill when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a mix of energy supplies for the UK must include nuclear power.
Answered by Lord Henley
As my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in his statement to the House on 17 January, we continue to believe that nuclear has an important role to play in the UK’s future energy mix, but it must represent good value for the taxpayer and consumer. Our internal analysis indicates that nuclear power can make a significant contribution to the UK’s energy future, and that decarbonisation of the power sector can be achieved cheaply, securely and reliably if nuclear can deliver good value for money. We will set out more detail on the Government’s approach to new nuclear as part of the planned Energy White Paper to be published in the summer
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have carried out a cost benefit analysis of the investment of public money in securing a mix of energy supplies including nuclear power for the UK.
Answered by Lord Henley
We regularly assess the costs and benefits of different technologies – including nuclear power – and assess the impact of different technologies on energy security, decarbonisation and consumer bills.
As my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in Parliament on 17 January 2019, the Government is looking at new financing models for supporting new nuclear projects, including a Regulated Asset Base model as recommended by the National Audit Office. We intend to publish our assessment of this method in due course.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that products which convert bayonet light fittings to screw fittings for new LED bulbs are safe to use.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government places great importance on the safety of consumers. Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 manufacturers are required to ensure that the products they place on the market comply with the safety objectives of the Regulations. Manufacturers must also provide clear instructions and safety information with each product.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many ministerial visits have been made to the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in each of the past three years; and whether any are planned for 2018.
Answered by Lord Henley
In the past three years, there have been four ministerial visits to Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), these include:
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly discusses potential ministerial visit opportunities with our partner organisations. Decisions on any future visits to Culham will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what Government-sponsored research is currently under way in respect of neural tube defect births.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), through its Clinical Research Network, is supporting two studies relating to neural tube defects:
Database Development for Newborn Screening Disorders
A study to develop a genotype-phenotype correlative database for six Newborn Screening Disorders by performing Next Generation DNA Sequencing on a small panel of genes and collecting medical record information from screen positive and clinically affected patients.
Prevention of Neural Tube Defects by Inositol (PONTI)
The study is intended to address the question of whether combined treatment folic acid and inositol is more effective at preventing neural tube defects than folic acid alone.
Research relating to neural tube defect births is also be supported through the Research Councils. Examples of current and recent projects supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) include:
Understanding the role of the Glycine Cleavage System in Neural Tube Defects
This project studies a group of proteins involved in folate handling and looks at their possible involvement in neural tube defects.
Investigating the effect of folic acid on the neural tube defect methylome
In many cases, neural tube defects (NTDs) are preventable by the mother taking periconceptional supplements of folic acid. This study is designed to generate a better understanding of the processes of normal and abnormal neural tube development and how folic acid interacts with this.
As Government funders of health research, neither the NIHR nor the MRC allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, such as neural tube defects, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. MRC welcomes high quality applications in any disease area.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 25 February (HL5950 and HL6117), when their consultations, if any, on amending the rules of property ownership will commence.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A discussion paper on proposals to require foreign companies to provide beneficial ownership information when purchasing or owning property or bidding for public contracts was published on Friday 4 March.
The document has been published here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/property-ownership-and-public-contracting-by-foreign-companies-improving-transparency and copies of the discussion paper have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to bring the rules regarding transparency in respect of overseas company ownership of UK property into line with those for UK registered companies' property ownership.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As announced, the Government is considering measures to increase the transparency of beneficial ownership of assets by foreign companies
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the consultation promised by the Prime Minister in his speech of 28 July 2015 at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore regarding property ownership and "extending what we currently ask of UK companies to foreign companies" will commence.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to my recent answer (HL5950) to him on the same issue, to which I have nothing further to add.