Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent in each of the last 10 financial years on assessing carbon capture and storage as a future UK energy source.
Answered by Claire Perry
As part of the Government’s CCS Commercialisation Programme (2011-15), a £125 million R&D programme was established with investment from central Government, the Research Councils (the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Centre (EPSRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)), Innovate UK and the Energy Technologies Institute.
Between 2008 and 2015, the Government invested £168 million in supporting the CCS Demonstration Programme (£68 million) and the CCS Commercialisation Programme (£100 million).
The Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, stated that a further £162 million on innovation for Business and Industry will be invested over the current Spending Review period, of which BEIS has allocated £100 million for Industry and CCUS Innovation from the £505 million BEIS Energy Innovation Programme.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on which dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department met representatives on the Hinkley C nuclear power station project in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
As this is a project of national importance, Ministers and officials have met representatives of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project on a number of occasions over the last five years and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the post-FIT consultation framework and the allocation of funding to onshore and solar power.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are considering options for small-scale low carbon generation beyond 2019, including onshore wind and solar, and a consultation on the Feed-in Tariff scheme will be published in due course.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department made of international trends in the use of nuclear technology to generate electricity before beginning negotiations with Hitachi on Wylfa Newydd; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government believes that nuclear has an important role to play in the UK’s future energy mix as we seek to decarbonise the economy. Each country’s energy policy will be dependent on a number of factors, namely its geography, natural resources and skill base. We belong to a number of organisations including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Energy Agency through which we keep abreast of overseas nuclear development.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department holds a risk register on the Hinkley C nuclear power station project; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Development of HPC and the management of project risks are a matter for the developer. The Government meets the developer regularly to receive updates on progress and seeks assurance on the timely delivery of the project.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when (a) he and (b) a Minister of his Department plans to meet the hon. Member for Glasgow South West to discuss the Workers (Definitions and Rights) Bill.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
On 8 March my Private Office contacted the hon Member offering a meeting to discuss his Bill. They are still awaiting a response.
As he will be aware, Government has launched four consultations in response to the Taylor review and intends to engage with as many stakeholders and interested parties as possible in order to inform our next steps. This includes a consultation that discusses issues around employment status and the worker status. I encourage him to feed in and respond.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to issue guidance to employers on pay for employees who were unable to travel to work as a result of red weather warnings.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to Question UIN 130992.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will issue guidance to employers on payroll deductions for employees who were unable to travel to work by public transport during the recent winter storms; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Employers should look kindly on workers who followed official guidance not to travel and treat them in good faith. I would encourage employers to come to a reasonable solution on pay that is fair to employees and right for their business.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what legislative plans his Department has to protect workers employed by a contractor which either (a) ceases trading or (b) absconds; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service can make statutory redundancy payments to the former employees of an employer that is unwilling or unable to make these payments. This would include an employer that ceases trading or absconds.
The Department has no legislative plans to extend this protection.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what legislative plans his Department has to simplify the definition of a worker in statute; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Employment status is an important and complex issue that is central to the employment rights and tax systems. We are committed to making it easier for individuals and businesses to determine whether someone is an employee, a worker, or self-employed.
Changing legislation is one of the options that the Government is considering to achieve this. However, this is an important and complex issue, and so it’s right that the Government takes the time to consider and consult on this properly and to ensure that there are no unintended consequences.