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Written Question
Drax Power Station: Timber
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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 his Department provided renewable subsidies to Drax for the burning of imported wood.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Renewables Obligation and Contracts for Difference schemes were set up to support the establishment of new low-carbon electricity generation projects, helping to reduce reliance on fossils fuels. Sustainable biomass can be used to produce renewable and low-carbon electricity. It has numerous system benefits from dispatchability to inertia, with stable established supply chains, providing energy security within a net zero consistent energy system.

The Government only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with the UK’s strict sustainability criteria.


Written Question
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Quarantine
Monday 1st November 2021

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of his Department's ministers have been exempted from quarantine in a hotel after returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country to which they have travelled for the purposes of conducting official business.

Answered by George Freeman

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has granted no letters exempting BEIS Ministers returning from red list countries from managed quarantine. Two BEIS Ministers performing duties outside of their BEIS roles were granted exemptions for engagements by other Departments.


Written Question
Carbon Emissions: Taxation
Monday 18th January 2021

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress the Government has made on producing a sustainable long-term plan for carbon pricing.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is committed to carbon pricing as a tool to meet our ambitious emissions reductions targets. In the Energy White Paper we announced that a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) would be the UK’s carbon pricing policy from 1 January 2021. The UK ETS initially covers around one third of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and applies to the power sector, heavy industry, domestic aviation, and flights from the UK to the European Economic Area.

We recognise that meeting Net Zero will require us to build on this ambition. That is why in the next 9 months we will consult on how to align the UK ETS cap with an appropriate net zero trajectory. The cap will provide certainty about the UK’s decarbonisation trajectory over the long-term, giving businesses the confidence to mobilise the scale of capital investment necessary to deploy clean energy technologies.

We are also committed to explore expanding the UK ETS and will set out our aspirations to continue to lead the world on carbon pricing in the run up to COP26.


Written Question
Carbon Emissions
Monday 18th January 2021

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a carbon fee and dividend as part of its plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

A carbon fee and dividend is an alternative form of carbon pricing policy. The UK already prices carbon emissions. This was previously through participation in the EU Emissions Trading System, and from January 2021 is via a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) as announced in the Energy White Paper. This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to carbon pricing as a tool to reduce emissions in line with our ambitious net zero target.

Whilst we recognise the benefits of a carbon fee and dividend system, we believe that our UK ETS is better placed to support businesses to decarbonise at least cost. The UK ETS initially covers around one third of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and applies to the power sector, heavy industry, domestic aviation and flights from the UK to the European Economic Area. We will consult in the next 9 months on how to align the cap with the appropriate net zero trajectory, and we are also committed to exploring expanding the UK ETS to the two thirds of emissions currently not covered by carbon pricing, and will set out our aspirations to continue to lead the world on carbon pricing in the run up to COP26.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Quarantine
Tuesday 9th June 2020

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the potential number of job losses in the (a) travel sector, (b) tourism sector and (c) wider economy as a result of the Government's proposed 14 day quarantine requirement due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Paul Scully

The 14 day quarantine policy is a matter for Home Office.


Written Question
Solar Power: Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme
Thursday 3rd November 2016

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to announce the results of the consultation on proposals to remove solar panels from the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Answered by Jesse Norman

We are currently analysing responses to the consultation on reforms to the Renewable Heat Incentive and will be publishing a formal response in due course.


Written Question
Solar Power: Subsidies
Monday 10th October 2016

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the report, Seeing through the gloom, UK solar seeks stability after subsidy cut, published in July 2016.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Solar in the UK has been a success story with 11 gigawatts deployed, over 99% of which has been delivered under Conservative-led Governments since May 2010.

Changes to the Feed-in Tariff scheme were introduced in 2016 to manage costs and ensure value for money. We note the efforts that the solar industry is making to adapt to the revised scheme. We have received the report ‘Seeing through the gloom’ and noted its findings.


Written Question
Higher Education: Admissions
Thursday 26th May 2016

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK citizens will have the rights that currently apply to access higher education in the EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU and prior to the completion of exit negotiations under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone

The procedure governing a country’s departure from the EU is set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This provides for a period of two years for the negotiation of exit terms. The EU Treaties would continue to apply to the departing Member State until the Article 50 agreement had entered into force, or for two years if no agreement had been reached and no extension to the two year period had been granted. A request for an extension could only be granted with the unanimous agreement of the remaining Member States. The Government's position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.