Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the preparedness of the planning system for the development of green hydrogen facilities.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Officials are collaborating closely to ensure the planning system is optimised to support the development of a rapidly expanding UK hydrogen economy. This includes through the BEIS Hydrogen Regulators Forum and bilateral engagement.
The Government will continue to work with industry and regulators to identify, prioritise and implement any changes to the existing framework, including addressing any gaps, to support the growth of the hydrogen economy.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What recent steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK potentially not associating to Horizon Europe.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I am delighted that, as part of our deal with the EU, we have agreed to associate to Horizon Europe. This represents a valuable collaboration on science and research to tackle global challenges, and in fields that will benefit UK citizens including the people of Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 encourage private investment into the UK hydrogen market.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the importance that ambition, and a supportive policy framework have had in building investor confidence in the development of low carbon technologies in the UK.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030.
The Ten Point Plan and Energy White Paper both set out that the Government, working with industry, aims to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030.
In support of this we have announced a £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund for capital co-investment in new low carbon hydrogen production, to bring forward a combination of CCUS-enabled ‘blue’ hydrogen and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen projects. We have also committed to consulting this year on a preferred hydrogen revenue mechanism, which will support private sector investment.
The Government will publish a dedicated Hydrogen Strategy in the first half of this year. This will offer more detail on how we will work with industry to meet the 2030 ambition.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2020 to Question 122697 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, how much funding his Department plans to allocate towards vaccine research that does not involve human fetal tissue in its development, production and laboratory testing in 2021; and whether his Department has plans to increase the level of such funding in future years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department’s Research and Development (R&D) settlement has increased to £11.1 billion for 2021/22. This settlement supports our commitments as set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps to consolidate our position as a science superpower. Specific funding is subject to our departmental allocations process, which is now underway and progressing at pace, including the allocation of this funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Most of the research into vaccines for human use that is funded by the Department is carried out through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI. The latest available data shows that in 2017/18, the MRC funded £25 million into research aimed at developing vaccines. This data does not record whether this work involved the use of aborted human foetal tissue.
Any use of such tissue would require an ethical review and must be in accordance with legal requirements. The MRC has produced guidance on the ethical and legal requirements for the use of human tissue in the research that it funds.
UKRI welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Where specific funding is allocated in advance for a strategic area of research, such as vaccines, such allocations would not normally specify the research methodology to be used.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2020 to Question 122697 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, how much funding his Department allocated towards vaccine research that did not involve aborted human fetal tissue in its development, production and laboratory testing in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department’s Research and Development (R&D) settlement has increased to £11.1 billion for 2021/22. This settlement supports our commitments as set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps to consolidate our position as a science superpower. Specific funding is subject to our departmental allocations process, which is now underway and progressing at pace, including the allocation of this funding to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Most of the research into vaccines for human use that is funded by the Department is carried out through the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI. The latest available data shows that in 2017/18, the MRC funded £25 million into research aimed at developing vaccines. This data does not record whether this work involved the use of aborted human foetal tissue.
Any use of such tissue would require an ethical review and must be in accordance with legal requirements. The MRC has produced guidance on the ethical and legal requirements for the use of human tissue in the research that it funds.
UKRI welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Where specific funding is allocated in advance for a strategic area of research, such as vaccines, such allocations would not normally specify the research methodology to be used.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any aborted fetuses material has been used in the development of any covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
At the time of a marketing authorisation, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) will include a full list of the drug substances and excipients. There are statutory requirements for what is required in an SmPC document and we will follow those for Covid-19 vaccines. More information is available in the “Guideline on Quality Aspects Included in the Product Information for Vaccines for Human Use”.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his plans to (a) promote the cultivation of and (b) develop processing facilities for bioenergy crops will be put in place in all parts of the UK.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
BEIS works across the UK government and alongside the Devolved Administrations to deliver our carbon budgets and net zero target for 2050. Analysis by the Committee on Climate Change of low-cost pathways to net zero has suggested that an expanded domestic supply of bioenergy feedstocks could be valuable in meeting those targets.
BEIS does not directly fund the promotion of bioenergy crops and their processing. BEIS currently supports the production of low carbon electricity and heat from bioenergy feedstocks through schemes such as the Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive, and continues to explore the scope for innovation to address economic and technical issues facing the bioenergy sector.
Land use and agriculture are devolved matters.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that non-essential shops and food and beverage outlets at airports are able to effectively operate within the airside and international travel environment.
Answered by Paul Scully
On 11 May, the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out a roadmap to a phased recovery. As per my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement of the five ministerial-led taskforces which form part of this recovery effort, BEIS is responsible for two of the five ministerial-led taskforces: Pubs and restaurants and Non-essential retail (including salons). Phase 2 of the approach will look at re-opening closed businesses in these sectors and the taskforces will be working closely with key stakeholders to begin reopening retail businesses in phases from 1 June.
These taskforces will aim to look at various issues which impact the closed businesses and we will develop plans for how and when closed sectors can reopen safely in due time, guided by the science and experts.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many schemes in Northern Ireland have been supported by the Enterprise Finance scheme; and which banks in Northern Ireland have supported those schemes.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme has supported 299 loans to SMEs in Northern Ireland, with a total value of £43.6m.
There are 19 EFG Accredited Lenders for Northern Ireland, which are publicly available to view on the British Business Bank’s website.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 aerospace supply chains.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government works closely with the UK aerospace sector, through the Industrial Strategy and Aerospace Growth Partnership, to support the competitive position of UK companies.
Through this partnership, Government has co-funded, with industry, a £4bn research and development programme from 2013 to 2026; a £250m productivity programme, Sharing in Growth (SiG); and a £40m technology collaboration programme aimed at smaller supply chain businesses, the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP). Government has also co-funded, with industry, the creation of an additional 500 Masters level postgraduate places for the UK aerospace sector. Many of these students are now working in the UK aerospace sector.
These programmes have helped hundreds of UK aerospace companies develop technologies and continue to be competitive in this global industry.