To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Environment Protection: Taxation
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to remove green levies for the short term to help consumers with energy bills.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Environmental and social policy costs currently represent 8% of the average dual fuel bill, however, they have actually saved consumers money on their energy bills overall over the past 10 years.

The Government’s investments in renewables and energy efficiency have led to a 26% fall in UK demand for natural gas since 2010, helping to reduce our exposure to global price volatility.

Furthermore, the Government has announced a package of support measures, totalling over £37 billion this year, including a £400 grant to households to help with their energy bills when it will be needed most.


Written Question
Nuclear Reactors
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the viability of modular nuclear reactors.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government’s £385m Advanced Nuclear Fund includes funding for an Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development & Demonstration Programme which aims to enable a High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) demonstration by the early 2030s to understand the potential of the technology. The Government’s decision to pursue HTGR technology was informed by publicly available reports and a technical assessment of advanced modular reactors.

The Government has also announced £210m of funding to support development of the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor design. This has been matched by private investment. The work will further develop the design and enable it to undergo the first two of three stages of regulatory assessment.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 3rd March 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the UK maintains the infrastructure needed to (a) develop second-generation covid-19 vaccines and (b) build its pandemic-readiness resilience.

Answered by George Freeman

In order to strengthen UK domestic vaccine capacity, as part of our response to COVID-19 and indeed potential future health emergencies, the Vaccine Taskforce (VTF) is actively working with industry to explore opportunities to build upon the £380 million the Government has already invested in UK vaccine manufacturing infrastructure and skills.

In the Autumn Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a further £354 million for UK life sciences manufacturing. This includes specific funding to increase the UK’s responsiveness and ability to manufacture vaccines, in particular mRNA capability following the success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Funding has also been provided for the VTF to strengthen the resilience of the UK’s vaccine supply chains.


Written Question
Hospitality Industry: Coronavirus
Wednesday 11th November 2020

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) cafes and (b) restaurants open for takeaways can also sell non-essential items during the second covid-19 lockdown.

Answered by Paul Scully

In England, cafes and restaurants can remain open for takeaway and deliveries. This means that customers can enter the premises to place and collect their order. COVID-secure businesses can continue to sell goods online or via click-and-collect. If a business is able to trade goods in a COVID-secure manner while following the new national restrictions, and all of the other trade requirements behind selling another good, they can. For example, a cafe could sell ceramic mugs to customers.


Written Question
Beer: Small Businesses
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether breweries will be permitted to sell alcohol for home delivery under the new national covid-19 lockdown restrictions in operation from 5 November 2020.

Answered by Paul Scully

Off licenses and licensed shops selling alcohol, including breweries, are permitted to remain open during the new national restrictions in place from 5 November.


Written Question
Self-employed
Wednesday 12th September 2018

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the number of self-employed individuals.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy relies on published labour market statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which are available here:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/previousReleases


Written Question
Small Businesses: Billing
Wednesday 12th September 2018

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the proportion of late payments to SMEs.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Government understands how important tackling late payment is, especially for smaller businesses. In due course, the Department will be publishing a call for evidence to understand the current trends and evidence on how late payments are affecting SMEs and to seek views on how the Government could go further to tackle the problem.


Written Question
Graphene
Wednesday 7th March 2018

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential contribution of graphene to UK GDP by 2020.

Answered by Sam Gyimah

At this point in the lifecycle of such an emergent technology, we cannot make reliable estimates of graphene’s near-term contribution to UK GDP. There is a long lead-in time for new materials to be embedded in technologies, and the case of graphene is no exception. Graphene is increasingly gaining traction across the world. One report has estimated that the global graphene-based products market will grow to $2.1 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.3%.[1] Over 140 companies in the UK have been active in graphene in the UK. The Government is playing an active role to support the development and exploitation of graphene – including through the projects funded by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with universities, and suppliers and end users of graphene, and the foundation of the National Graphene Institute (NGI) and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC).

[1] Graphene: Technologies, Applications and Markets, BCC Research, 2016


Written Question
Energy: Meters
Wednesday 7th March 2018

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that smart meters are on schedule to be installed in every household by 2020.

Answered by Claire Perry

The Government is committed to ensuring that all homes and small businesses are offered smart meters by the end of 2020. The Programme is well underway with around 400,000 being installed every month.There are now over 8.6 million smart and advanced meters operating across homes and businesses across Great Britain. The rollout of smart meters is on track to deliver significant benefits, including putting an end to estimated bills, and is set to save consumers £300m in 2020 alone.

Energy suppliers are responsible for planning and delivering the roll-out of smart meters, working within the legal framework established by the Government. Energy suppliers’ licence conditions require them to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to roll-out smart meters to all their domestic and small business customers by 31 December 2020. Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against this obligation.


Written Question
Data Processing
Wednesday 7th March 2018

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the potential contribution of machine learning to UK GDP by 2020.

Answered by Sam Gyimah

Machine Learning is a significant technology within Artificial Intelligence (AI) more broadly.

One estimate published by PWC in 2017 proposed that AI could add £232bn to the UK economy by 2030 [1]. Analysis by Accenture predicts that AI alone could add an Additional £630bn to the economy by 2035 increasing the annual growth rate of GVA from 2.5 to 3.9% [2].

The Industrial Strategy sets Grand Challenges to put the UK in the vanguard of the industries of the future, ensuring that the UK takes advantage of major global changes, improving people’s lives and the country’s productivity. First among these is the AI and Data-driven Economy Grand Challenge.

[1]https://www.pwc.co.uk/press-room/press-releases/artificial-intelligence-could-add-232bn-to-UK-gdp.html

[2] https://newsroom.accenture.com/subjects/technology/artificial-intelligence-poised-to-double-annual-economic-growth-rate-in-12-developed-economies-and-boost-labor-productivity-by-up-to-40-percent-by-2035-according-to-new-research-by-accenture.htm