Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 strengthen healthcare and workplace support for women and partners affected by pregnancy loss and other fertility related issues.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises that pregnancy loss is upsetting and that parents affected will need healthcare and may need support at work.
The Department of Health and Social Care's plans to improve healthcare support for those affected by fertility issues will be set out in the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy.
Parents who suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks may be entitled to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay. Women who are not able to return to work following a miscarriage earlier in pregnancy may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay while off work. Many employers also offer ‘Compassionate Leave’, and we encourage employers to respond sensitively to each individual’s specific needs.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 has commissioned any research on thorium molten salt reactors.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Thorium fuel research is undertaken via UKRI grants to UK Universities for academic research and via the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL).
BEIS and its partner organisations continue to maintain a watching brief on the state of development and market demand for thorium-based nuclear fuels. BEIS officials also remain in contact with a number of organisations that support thorium use or are undertaking research into its applications.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) help improve recruitment to and (b) tackle a skills shortage in the construction industry.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government continues to review matters related to skills on a regular basis. We are working closely with the construction industry to ensure that it can attract, retain and develop the skilled workforce it needs for the future. This includes the introduction of a Talent Retention Scheme, which is now being taken forward by industry, to help workers move into construction jobs; and work with the Construction Industry Training Board and the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) to ensure effective and appropriate support for skills development.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with industry leaders on the potential merits of the increased use of sustainable construction materials and methods.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State, BEIS officials and I have regular discussions with construction industry leaders on a wide range of issues, including increasing the sustainability of the sector.
The Government is supporting the sector's move to industrialised offsite manufacturing, digitisation and improved sustainability. The Transforming Construction Challenge, jointly funded with industry is piloting new approaches to construction products and processes to enable the sector to produce safe, efficient, sustainable buildings.
In March, the Construction Leadership Council launched CO2nstructZero, a cross-industry decarbonisation programme. This prioritises development of innovative, sustainable materials, and it will help to develop sustainable solutions for manufacturing production processes and distribution. The CLC will report regularly to Government on its progress against CO2nstructZero priorities.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Green Homes Grant Scheme applications his Department has received from people living in Enfield North since August 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Official scheme statistics published on the 21st October 2021 for the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme describe the status of applications prior to 7th October 2021, including statistics for the Enfield North constituency.
The next statistical release is expected on 18 November 2021.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Green Homes Grant Schemes his Department has approved in Enfield North constituency since August 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Official scheme statistics published on the 21st October 2021 for the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme describe the status of applications prior to 7th October 2021, including statistics for the Enfield North constituency.
The next statistical release is expected on 18 November 2021.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to (a) support low-income families with energy bills, (b) deliver low-carbon energy schemes and (c) insulate homes in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The energy price cap will save 15 million households up to £100 on their energy bills this winter. The Government supports low-income and fuel poor households with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments.
The landmark Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out how the Government will decarbonise homes across the country, making them warmer, more efficient and cheaper for families to run.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to provide resources to Enfield Council to help deliver low carbon heating and net zero goals as part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The 2020 Summer Economic Update announced the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator project, launched in 2020, which has awarded £61 million to 18 local authorities to test innovative approaches to retrofitting at scale, covering over 2,100 social homes in England and Scotland.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham was awarded £9.6 million to retrofit an estimated 230 homes in London, delivering as part of a consortium, of which the London Borough of Enfield is a member. The project looks to improve the energy performance of homes by installing external wall insultation, having oil and gas heating in homes replaced with air-source heat pumps and installing solar panels.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) promote the availability and (b) provide investment for non-animal alternatives to tests including organoids, organ-on-a-chip technology and computational and stem cell technology.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice, and regulations on animal research.
The NC3Rs receives its core funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Medical Research Council, and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million in research to develop 3Rs technologies.
In addition to funding the NC3Rs, UKRI also funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. The principles of the 3Rs are embedded in all the research within UKRI’s remit involving (or potentially involving) animal use. UKRI also encourages grant applicants, including those whose research does not involve animals but could contribute to greater reduction and replacement, to consider further opportunities to advance the 3Rs.
Between 2015-2019, the BBSRC spent over £7 million on research grants aimed at developing and applying innovative methodologies to studying human and animal physiology, including in silico approaches, organ-on-a-chip, organoid and other advanced cell culture systems.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 (a) community, (b) main and (c) Crown Post Offices in (i) the Enfield North constituency and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
While Post Office Limited is publicly owned, it operates as an independent, commercial business. Therefore, details regarding the number of community and Crown Post Offices in the Enfield North constituency and the United Kingdom as of 15 July 2021, are an operational matter for Post Office Limited.