Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve communications on power failures on the low voltage network in the upland and wooded areas of the country with people living in those areas.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department is leading a review following Storm Arwen in 2021 into electricity network resilience during storm events. This includes identification of improvements to customer communications across Great Britain. Final recommendations will be published by the end of May.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
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 bring forward legislation to enable a financing mechanism for new nuclear power stations.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As we stated in our response to the consultation on a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) for nuclear published on 14th December 2020, we believe that a RAB remains a credible model for funding nuclear projects, as it should reduce the cost of finance and thereby reduce consumer bills. The Government is considering the model in detail and recognises the need for legislation to implement.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support investment in science research at universities within West Yorkshire.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Government is fully committed to maintaining the UK’s world-leading science, research and higher education base.
As of October 2016, there were a total of 443 active Research Council grants awarded to universities in the West Yorkshire area – as defined by the Leeds City Region LEP. The total value of the grants comes to £279 million split over four organisations: Leeds Metropolitan University; University of Bradford; University of Huddersfield and University of Leeds.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provided £55.5 million in 2016/17 to five universities in West Yorkshire: University of Leeds; University of Huddersfield; University of Bradford; Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Trinity University. This funding was allocated on the basis of the research quality, and the business and charity income of these universities. HEFCE provided a further £6.3 million to these universities in that year to support knowledge exchange activities.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the manufacturing sector in Calderdale.
Answered by Margot James
Government has awarded £56m to Leeds City Region from the Local Growth Fund for a range of capital grants for SMEs. To date 407 grants have been awarded from the Business Growth Programme, with 70% going to businesses in the manufacturing sector. 42 of these grants, totalling £2.4m, have been awarded to SMEs in the manufacturing sector in Calderdale.
In February this year we announced a £400m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), aimed at boosting the North of England’s economy and helping the region’s businesses realise their growth potential.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
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 number of people in the Calder Valley who will benefit from the recent increase in the national living wage.
Answered by Margot James
We have not produced estimates of the number of people in the Calder Valley who benefitted from the increase in the National Living Wage on 1 April 2017. However, in Annex C of the Government’s published Impact Assessment we estimated that, at the time of the uprating, 172,000 workers in Yorkshire and Humber would benefit from the new National Living Wage and an additional 40,000 workers would benefit from the new National Minimum Wage rates.
The Low Pay Commission has recently published sub-regional analysis. This estimates that 7.4% of employees in Calderdale, Yorkshire and Humber are covered by the new National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage rates.
The Government’s Impact Assessment is available here:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2017/42/pdfs/ukia_20170042_en.pdf
The Low Pay Commission analysis is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-pay-commission-april-2017-minimum-wage-rise-analysis
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support rural post offices.
Answered by Margot James
The Government recognises the important role post offices play in communities across the country, especially in the more remote, rural areas. This is why in our Manifesto we committed to secure the future of 3,000 rural post offices.
Government will have provided nearly £2 billion between 2010 and 2018 to maintain modernise and protect a network of at least 11,500 post offices across the country, which includes funding to invest in rural community branches to improve the customer offer and increase their sustainability.
Through Government’s investment, there over 11,600 post offices in UK and the network is at its most stable in decades.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on research funding across all disciplines in universities in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Government is committed to maintain and enhance the strength of our research base. This is why we have protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion for the rest of the parliament, as well as committing to invest in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – £6.9 billion over the period 2015-2021 – including £65 million in the North East in 2014/15.
The Treasury decision to underwrite the grants of competitively bid for EU research funding will give British participants and their EU partners the assurance and certainty needed to plan ahead for projects that can run over many years. We will ensure that the UK, including Yorkshire and the Humber, continues to be a world leader in international research and innovation.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential for job creation in renewable energy sectors in the next five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The latest figures from the ONS suggest that, in 2014, 238,500 full-time equivalent employees were working directly in the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy sectors in the UK. This figure does not include additional jobs that have been created in the wider renewable energy supply chain.
The Low Carbon and Renewable Energy sectors will be at the heart of this Governments Industrial Strategy to support jobs and growth.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on producing a long-term industrial strategy for the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Answered by Nick Hurd
On 2 August, my right Hon. Friend the Prime Minister chaired the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Economy and Industrial Strategy, which brings together Secretaries of State of Departments across Whitehall to help to drive forward an Industrial Strategy that will aim to deliver the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘an economy that works for all’ and put the United Kingdom in a strong position for the future, promoting a diversity of industrial sectors and ensuring the benefits of growth are shared across cities and regions up and down the country, including Yorkshire and Humber.
Overall responsibility for developing and implementing an industrial strategy sits within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We will be working closely across Government and with a range of organisations – including regional representatives, businesses, trade bodies, universities, and trade unions - to deliver this, to help ensure that the economy grows strongly in all parts of the country, and to support the UK’s global competitiveness.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to protect employment levels in the Yorkshire and Humber region from the potential (a) immediate and (b) short to long-term effects of the UK withdrawing from the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The employment rate is at a record high. Government is committed to ensuring that UK remains open for business, and continues to grow and thrive. Our recent UK Innovation survey report confirms business innovation is growing across the UK and Yorkshire and Humber leads the way as the most innovative region. Government has awarded £1.19 billion in Growth Deals to the Local Enterprise Partnerships in the region so far which is forecast to attract £1.62 billion of co-investment and create 39,000 jobs.