Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason members of trade unions are not permitted to vote on union matters electronically.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Before responding to the Knight Review recommendations, the Government was required by Section 4 of the Trade Union Act 2016 to consult relevant organisations, including professionals from expert associations, to seek their advice and recommendations.
We have done this and are now finalising our consideration of Sir Ken’s recommendations before we issue our response in due course.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase the number of companies in the UK which can carry out sourcing and forming operations for various critical metals.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK has a strong mining and engineering sector, world-leading R&D and pockets of mineral wealth. We have minerals expertise, including industrial clusters across the UK, and Europe’s leading mining school. The City of London is a global centre of mining finance, standards, and metals trading.
The Critical Minerals Strategy includes ambitions to maximise what the UK can produce domestically, where viable for businesses and where it works for communities and our natural environment. We are undertaking a national critical mineral resource assessment and have mechanisms to boost our capabilities, such as the Automotive Transformation Fund.
We are also seeking to support UK companies operating around the world to participate in building responsible and diversified global supply chains.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 trends in the level of companies in the UK which can carry out sourcing and forming operations for various critical metals.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK has a strong mining and engineering sector, world-leading R&D and pockets of mineral wealth. We have minerals expertise, including industrial clusters across the UK, and Europe’s leading mining school. The City of London is a global centre of mining finance, standards, and metals trading.
The Critical Minerals Strategy includes ambitions to maximise what the UK can produce domestically, where viable for businesses and where it works for communities and our natural environment. We are undertaking a national critical mineral resource assessment and have mechanisms to boost our capabilities, such as the Automotive Transformation Fund.
We are also seeking to support UK companies operating around the world to participate in building responsible and diversified global supply chains.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the security of supply of Molybdenum.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Earlier this year, BEIS commissioned the British Geological Survey to carry out the UK’s first criticality assessment, and it defined 18 critical minerals with the highest supply risk and economic importance. However, the Government recognises that UK needs and international markets can change, and therefore the assessment will be reviewed regularly through the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).
The Critical Minerals Strategy sets out plans to improve the resilience of critical minerals supply chains by boosting domestic capability, enhancing global markets, and playing a leading role in solving global challenges with our international partners.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the security of supply of Hafnium.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Earlier this year, BEIS commissioned the British Geological Survey to carry out the UK’s first criticality assessment, and it defined 18 critical minerals with the highest supply risk and economic importance. However, the Government recognises that UK needs and international markets can change, and therefore the assessment will be reviewed regularly through the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).
The Critical Minerals Strategy sets out plans to improve the resilience of critical minerals supply chains by boosting domestic capability, enhancing global markets, and playing a leading role in solving global challenges with our international partners.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which critical metals he has identified as being in short supply and pose a challenge to the UK's security of supply of critical minerals.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Earlier this year, BEIS commissioned the British Geological Survey to carry out the UK’s first criticality assessment, and it defined 18 critical minerals with the highest supply risk and economic importance. However, the Government recognises that UK needs and international markets can change, and therefore the assessment will be reviewed regularly through the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).
The Critical Minerals Strategy sets out plans to improve the resilience of critical minerals supply chains by boosting domestic capability, enhancing global markets, and playing a leading role in solving global challenges with our international partners.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent critical metals waste from being exported and recovered abroad rather than in the UK.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As part of the commitment to improve critical mineral supply chain resilience, the Government will look at ways to promote recycling and recovery by exploring regulatory interventions to promote re-use, recycling, and recovery of critical minerals. The Government plans to consult on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations and end-of-life batteries next year.
The Government will also access public R&D funding for recycling, reuse, resource efficiency and substitution of critical minerals and explore how Government funding mechanisms such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can support it. The £30 million National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) Programme includes a centre on technology metals supporting companies developing domestic capabilities in the circular economy.
In line with WTO rules, the Government does not have any plans to restrict the export of metal waste from the UK.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what projects he has identified for Government support to help aid greater recovery of key critical metals in the UK.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As part of the commitment to improve critical mineral supply chain resilience, the Government will look at ways to promote recycling and recovery by exploring regulatory interventions to promote re-use, recycling, and recovery of critical minerals. The Government plans to consult on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations and end-of-life batteries next year.
The Government will also access public R&D funding for recycling, reuse, resource efficiency and substitution of critical minerals and explore how Government funding mechanisms such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can support it. The £30 million National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) Programme includes a centre on technology metals supporting companies developing domestic capabilities in the circular economy.
In line with WTO rules, the Government does not have any plans to restrict the export of metal waste from the UK.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 the efficacy of the end of waste classification in facilitating the domestic recovery of critical metals.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As part of the commitment to improve critical mineral supply chain resilience, the Government will look at ways to promote recycling and recovery by exploring regulatory interventions to promote re-use, recycling, and recovery of critical minerals. The Government plans to consult on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations and end-of-life batteries next year.
The Government will also access public R&D funding for recycling, reuse, resource efficiency and substitution of critical minerals and explore how Government funding mechanisms such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can support it. The £30 million National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) Programme includes a centre on technology metals supporting companies developing domestic capabilities in the circular economy.
In line with WTO rules, the Government does not have any plans to restrict the export of metal waste from the UK.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what mechanisms he has identified to improve domestic critical metals recovery which are more (a) accessible and (b) short-term than the recovery of metals from electric vehicles.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As part of the commitment to improve critical mineral supply chain resilience, the Government will look at ways to promote recycling and recovery by exploring regulatory interventions to promote re-use, recycling, and recovery of critical minerals. The Government plans to consult on reforms to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations and end-of-life batteries next year.
The Government will also access public R&D funding for recycling, reuse, resource efficiency and substitution of critical minerals and explore how Government funding mechanisms such as UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) can support it. The £30 million National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) Programme includes a centre on technology metals supporting companies developing domestic capabilities in the circular economy.
In line with WTO rules, the Government does not have any plans to restrict the export of metal waste from the UK.