Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of more virulent strains of COVID-19 appearing in Kent, South Africa and Brazil, what plans they have to purchase additional supplies of the Oxford/Modena and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has secured access to 367 million vaccines doses through agreements with seven separate vaccine developers. This includes 157 million doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca, , Pfizer/BioNTech, and Moderna vaccines.
The Government continues to monitor the landscape of COVID-19 vaccine development, both here in the UK and internationally, and will keep the situation under review.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of plans to test whether the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines can be combined successfully.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This is a commercial matter for AstraZeneca on which the Government cannot comment. The agreement between the UK Government and AstraZeneca to supply 100 million doses of vaccine is unaffected by any further agreements by AstraZeneca with other partners.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doses of the Sputnik V vaccine they (1) have purchased, or (2) are planning to purchase, in the event that tests show that the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines can be combined successfully.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government has not and is not planning to purchase any Sputnik V vaccines.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have sufficient quantities of effective alternative vaccines for the entire UK population following the recent AstraZeneca test results.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government has secured early access to 357 million vaccines doses through agreements with seven separate vaccine developers. This includes agreements with:
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Callanan on 18 November (HLWS580), what estimate they have made of the additional power required from the National Grid to support their plans to increase the use of electric vehicles and to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Each year BEIS publishes updated energy projections (UEPs), analysing and projecting future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The most recently published assessment (EEP 2019) included assumptions on the transition to electric vehicles and accounted for policies which were considered firm and funded by autumn 2019. Forthcoming energy projections will be updated to account for the latest policy decisions, including ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030.
We expect the transition to electric vehicles to create significant new demand for electricity but also offer opportunities for flexible management of the electricity system. Smart charging during off-peak periods, when electricity demand is low, can reduce peak demand and avoid triggering unnecessary network reinforcement. It can also maximise use of renewable electricity and can benefit consumers with cheaper electricity.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Callanan on 18 November (HLWS580), how many chargepoints for electric vehicles they estimate will be required to support their target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is a global front-runner in the provision of charging infrastructure. We want chargepoints to be accessible, affordable and secure wherever people live. While we expect the majority of EV charges will be done at home, charging provision on motorways and A-roads is needed to ensure that consumers can be confident in making the switch to electric vehicles. By 2030, we are planning for there to be around 2,500 high powered chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads. The Ten Point Plan confirmed £1.3 billion in funding to support the rapid expansion of the charging network in the 2020s, which includes £950 million in future proofing grid capacity along the Strategic Road Network.
We also need to ensure that sufficient charging infrastructure is provided for households that do not have access to off-street parking. This must meet the needs of current and future EV users using a mix of charging types that can be cost-effectively supported by the future electricity network. We are working with stakeholders to ensure an evidence based transition to a charging network that fulfils these objectives.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Callanan on 18 November (HLWS580), what they estimate to be the total costs, including the costs of the infrastructure required to support electric vehicles, involved in meeting their target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has backed the new phase out dates with a £2.8 billion package of investment to reduce the cost of vehicles, accelerate the roll out of infrastructure and support industry to electrify their supply chains.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Callanan on 18 November (HLWS580), what is the period over which they will invest the "£1.3 billion to accelerate the rollout of chargepoints for electric vehicles in homes, streets and on motorways" in order to meet their target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will provide £1.3 billion over the next four years to support the continued roll-out of chargepoints on motorways and major A roads, in homes and businesses and on-street.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - 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 level of investor interest in new nuclear power plants.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Nuclear power will play a key role in the UK’s future energy mix as we transition to a low-carbon economy, and we continue to discuss new nuclear projects with viable companies and investors wishing to develop sites in the UK.
The developer-led construction of Hinkley Point C in Somerset is well underway, employing thousands of workers and having already invested almost £1.7 billion in the regional economy.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they have put in place to deal with any early onset of peak oil.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK was the first major economy in the world to legislate for net zero and as we move to a low carbon economy, oil and gas will play a smaller role in meeting the demand for energy over time.
The oil and gas sector has an important part to play now in sustaining our energy security of supply, and in the energy transition to support net zero, having many of the essential skills and capabilities in its world class supply chain to support emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen, and through its investment in infrastructure.
We will support this energy transition with a transformational North Sea Transition Deal, which we have committed to deliver within this Parliament. The focus of this deal will be on ensuring the sector can support the energy transition and anchor the supply chain to the UK.
The oil and gas sector supports tens of thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK. Safeguarding these jobs whilst creating new low carbon jobs will be a key consideration of the proposed North Sea Transition Deal.