Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing public procurement policy to (a) incentivise and (b) require greater use of UK-made steel in publicly funding projects in the context of the decision of the Net Zero Teesside Power contract.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government knows it is important to communities across the country that we use UK-made steel. We are ambitious about increasing the use of UK made steel in UK energy and infrastructure projects where possible.
Net Zero Teesside is not a public procurement (so public procurement guidelines do not apply) but we have spoken to the project developer to understand more about the use of UK and non-UK steel, as well as the wider use of UK local content, in the project. They confirmed their voluntary commitment to achieve more than 50% UK content across the value chain, with around £1billion UK-based sub-contracts already awarded.
We want to champion UK steelmaking and our steel communities now and for generations to come and my colleagues at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are looking at how greater UK content will be used in future projects.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will expand the Energy Supercharger package to include a larger proportion of the steel industry and related sectors, including scrap.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government remains committed to ensuring British businesses are internationally competitive and I recognise the pressure that energy costs place on the steel industry and related sectors.
A number of firms supporting the wider steel industry are currently eligible for the British Industry Supercharger and are benefiting from the recent uplift to the Network Charging Compensation Scheme. The Supercharger is being reviewed this year, and I encourage scrap and wider metals sectors to engage with the upcoming review.
The recovery of sorted material will become an eligible sector under the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme which will provide exemptions from April 2027.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will be funded; when his Department plans to consult on how the scheme will be funded; and whether the costs of the scheme will be passed onto other consumer bills.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A consultation will be launched in the Spring on the amendments to legislation that will be required to deliver the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. This will include details on how the scheme will be funded.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Motability Scheme on supporting the British automotive industry.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Motability has stated that its aim is for 50% of all scheme vehicles leased from 2035 to be manufactured in the UK. We are committed to the growth of the automotive sector in the UK through investment in innovation, research & development and skills. Our flagship DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) initiative will support the latest R&D in strategic vehicle technologies, accelerate their commercial scale-up, and unlock investment in their industrialisation. As part of this ambitious programme, we are committing £4 billion of capital and R&D funding to the British automotive industry through to 2035.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with Oscar Mayer on their employment practices.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers meet regularly with business organisations and trade associations. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
This Government has introduced the Employment Rights Bill, representing the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. This includes day one protections from unfair dismissal, banning exploitative zero hours contracts and ending fire and rehire.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department plans to bring forward the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are committed to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay in full. Ministers are identifying the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for the commitments in the Plan, including an Employment Rights Bill. The Bill will be introduced to Parliament within 100 days of taking office.