Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the value to the UK of genomics sector exports.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There is no routinely collected data to estimate the value of UK genomics sector exports. However, data published by the Office for Life Sciences in August 2020 indicate that the sector has an annual turnover of £2.3 billion. Genomics remains a priority sector for the department and we are working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the new national genomic healthcare strategy “Genome UK: the future of healthcare”. We are proactively supporting UK companies and organisations to secure exports in this field and are engaged with key players across the industry, including major trade associations and senior industry figures.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the value to the UK of artificial intelligence sector exports.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade does not hold figures which quantify the export value of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. The UK is the largest recipient of AI investment in Europe and third in the world and the UK Government is actively supporting the development of its AI industry to ensure that this position is maintained and enhanced. The Government continues to support the UK technology sector where, in 2019, the value of digital goods exports was £17.4bn while digital services exports in 2018 were £51.4bn (latest available full year figures).
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on improving mobile coverage in rural West Sussex.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government wants the UK to have high-quality mobile coverage where people live, work and travel, and we are committed to extending geographic mobile coverage further to 95% of the UK.
That is why the Government announced on 9 March 2020 that it had agreed the £1 billion Shared Rural Network deal with the mobile network operators. This landmark deal will see operators collectively increase mobile phone coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of 2025, underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments.
Since signing the agreement, however, initial radio plans have been submitted to the regulator, Ofcom, and an open, fair and transparent competitive procurement process for the publicly funded elements of the programme has commenced.
We are currently unable to provide any details on the precise location or number of new or upgraded masts that may be delivered in rural areas of West Sussex as a result of the programme. However, I have personally encouraged operators to be transparent about their plans.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the value to the UK of zero-emission transport sector exports.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Clean transport is a key sector, as recognised by the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution. The Department for International Trade is working across Whitehall and with industry to secure investment into the sector, grow UK capability, and export. Clean transport covers multiple technologies that are at various stages of development and as such, a total assessment of the value of the clean transport sector has not been made.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the value to the UK of quantum computing sector exports.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade does not hold figures which quantify the export value of the Quantum computing sector. The importance and potential of Quantum technologies are recognised by the Government, which, in partnership with the private sector, is supporting £1bn worth of investment through the 10-year National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP). This investment is helping to drive commercialisation and position the UK at the forefront of Quantum computing. The Government continues to invest in the UK technology sector, where in 2019 the value of digital goods exports was £17.4bn, while digital services exports in 2018 were £51.4bn (latest full year figures).
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on its assessment of the results of acoustic camera trials.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department’s initial trials of a prototype acoustic camera have concluded. The Government anticipates the results will be published in the spring following a re-phasing of the work due to pressures arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to enable more small business to take advantage of the Kickstart scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
From 3 February we will remove the 30 job minimum requirement for applications to the Kickstart Scheme. This will make the scheme accessible to even more employers, giving them choice about whether to apply directly or via one of over 600 approved Kickstart Gateways. We continue to engage with employers to maintain the high interest in the scheme with over 120,000 jobs approved to date.
For many employers Kickstart gateways will still play an important role. They can offer help with the necessary wrap around support for the young person, training and applications or can provide a route into the scheme for organisations without a PAYE system.
Sole traders and those without a PAYE system can continue to apply through the Gateway set up in partnership between FSB and AWV.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the risk of covid-19 vaccines expiring before they are administered.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Public Health England (PHE) manages vaccine stocks by ‘first expiry first out’. This means that stock with the shortest expiry date is identified against orders and sent to National Health Service sites for administration into patients before longer dated stock. This is a standard process employed across all vaccine stocks managed by PHE for the national immunisation programme.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to promote environmentally sustainable investments by pension funds.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For several years the DWP has taken action to ensure that sustainable investment by pension funds is both possible and encouraged. This has been in several different ways.
In 2018 we brought forward the ESG Regulations. These require trustees of schemes with 100 or more members to publish a policy on environmental considerations including climate change, and defined contribution schemes are required to publically report annually on how they have implemented their policy. This policy was expanded upon in 2019.
In 2020 the Government brought in the Pension Schemes Bill; Section 124 provides powers to impose a wide range of climate-related requirements, including to report in line with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and to take account of the Paris Agreement goal. This is a world first. This, the first pensions-related bill to specifically cover climate change, completed its passage of Parliament on 19th January 2021. We will bring forward detailed draft regulations and statutory guidance to in the coming days. Subject to approval by Parliament, these duties will come into force in October 2021.
Whilst many schemes can and do invest in environmentally sustainable opportunities within the charge cap, the Government is seeking to make it easier for pension scheme trustees to invest in ‘productive finance’ that funds infrastructure, small businesses and the transition to ‘net zero’. To that end we have consulted upon changes to the rules and requirements relating to the investment by pension funds in illiquid investments.
The fragmentation of the UK pensions market is holding us back. The Government will introduce changes in October of this year to drive consolidation of the UK Defined Contribution pensions market. Without a faster rate of consolidation and greater scale, members of smaller schemes simply cannot benefit from the potential returns and greater diversification that investments such as green infrastructure or the sustainable businesses of the future can offer.
Finally, the government is also creating a Green Gilt to provide another investment vehicle for pension funds in sustainable investments.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support the UK’s transition to a net-zero economy.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government is committed to ending the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050. As a step towards this, the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution was announced alongside the 2020 Autumn Spending Review.
The Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12 billion of Government investment for the green industries of the future and accelerate the UK’s path to Net Zero. This Government investment will spur over three times as much private sector investment by 2030.