Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of launching a campaign to encourage the purchase of steel made in the UK that is similar to the Buy American Act in the US.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government wants UK businesses to be successful in bidding for UK public contracts. We also want UK businesses to be successful in competing for public contracts in other countries around the world, which we achieve by negotiating guaranteed market access for UK suppliers in many international free trade agreements. This reciprocal guaranteeing of market access means treating each other’s suppliers in the same way as we treat domestic suppliers. The terms of these agreements mean that legally it is not possible for the UK to have a similar policy.
It is important to note that the Buy America policy does not apply to members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement, which includes the UK, so our steel suppliers are not affected.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the (a) national security and (b) economic resilience benefits of a domestic steel industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Steel is a key material with many different uses. The UK steel industry represents around 1.2% of total manufacturing output in the UK and underpins a range of domestic industries, across manufacturing, infrastructure and construction. It forms the core of some local communities and economies, directly supporting c.39,000 jobs, and a further c.60,000 jobs in the upstream supply chain[1].
The Government recognises the role that steel plays within the UK economy and is working with the industry on its decarbonisation options and a sustainable future.
[1] ONS and NOMIS Data (2021)
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) setting indicative targets for domestically made steel in public projects and (b) formulating policies to help meet such targets.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Setting UK procurement targets for public projects or any measures which favour, or indirectly discriminate in favour of, UK products or suppliers, constitutes a breach of the UK’s international obligations under the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of Procurement Policy Note PPN 04/23) on Procuring Steel in Government Contracts in other (a) Government departments and (b) public bodies.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office have been engaging with other government departments, and relevant public bodies, throughout the development of Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 04/23.
Since its publication, and as part of the PPN’s rollout process, the Cabinet Office held familiarisation sessions to ensure that commercial procurement professionals are fully aware of the new policy and its requirements.
In addition, I continue to engage with sector colleagues on all steel related issues, including procurement in our regular steel sector calls. These calls are attended by industry and trade union representatives, with the most recent call having taken place on 2 May.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to respond to the emails from the hon. Member for Sefton Central of 13 September 2022 and 17 February 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Correspondence received from hon. Members are responded to within the Cabinet Office guidelines. The Department for Business and Trade has not received the correspondence in question. If the member can resend to badenoch.correspondence@trade.gov.uk this will be dealt with as a priority matter.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 May 2023 to Question 182551 on Iron and Steel: Russia, and with reference to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, what plans her Department has to enforce the ban on Russian steel processed in third countries from September.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK has taken a leading role in an internationally coordinated approach to sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, including through working together with international partners to tackle circumvention. This helps ensure sanctions have the maximum impact.
The Government is working across multiple departments and agencies to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of UK sanctions. The Government will also support businesses to comply with the new iron and steel measures in the coming months.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to provide funding to help support the electrification of industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Electrification of industry is key to decarbonisation. The Government already provides grants for fuel switching through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund and Industrial Fuel Switching Competition. This year, the Government will publish a Call for Evidence on enabling industrial electrification, looking at the specific barriers and how these may be overcome.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is planning to introduce by the end of the Parliament to reduce industrial electricity prices.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The government has announced new measures to support Britain’s strategic Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) with high electricity prices. The British Industry Supercharger aims to remove policy costs to reduce the long-term industrial electricity price gap between the UK and competitor countries. Proposals will exempt firms from costs arising from renewable energy obligations and GB Capacity Market costs. It will also offer support with network charges, for which an amendment has been introduced to the Energy Bill. We will consult on the capacity market exemption shortly and intend to bring forward secondary legislation on all three measures within this Parliament.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure long-term industrial growth.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Chancellor has identified five key growth sectors for the UK: Digital Technology, Green Industries, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Creative Industries. The government announced £500 million per year package of support for 20,000 research and development (R&D) intensive businesses through changes to R&D tax credits, 12 new investment zones, and £20 billion of support for the early development of Carbon Capture Usage and Storage. DBT announced regulatory measures that will reduce burdensome red tape and tailor rules to suit the UK economy, potentially saving employers around £1 billion yearly. These innovative policies will help DBT drive long-term industrial growth for the UK.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to build the supply chain capacity for house building.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government has stated its commitment to increasing supply chain capacity, productivity and efficiency, through the use of offsite construction techniques for housing and other types of buildings and infrastructure. This is set out in Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2020, and the Construction Playbook.
Through the Transforming Construction Challenge, the Government invested in a number of housing-related R&D projects to increase the capacity and quality of housing delivery, including the Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH), Futureproof and Stellar, with a range of firms, housing associations and academic partners.