Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether charities conducting medical research will be able to access the funding for research and development announced in the 2020 Spending Review.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the funding of medical research charities.
The Government already provides significant direct funding to charities’ research through Research England’s Quality Related (QR) charity support funding. This year charity QR will amount to £204m, to support charity funded research in universities in England.
Additionally, the Government supports this research through investments in the necessary infrastructure, through collaborations with UKRI and through the tax system. In 2018-19 over £1.3bn in tax relief on donations was received through Gift Aid benefitting all charities, including those carrying out vital medical research.
BEIS officials have also been meeting regularly with the Association of Medical Research Charities to develop an appropriate approach to supporting the important research that their members fund through the challenges they are currently facing.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 the North Wales Mersey Dee region.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department continues to engage with industry and suppliers to ensure that we can support our?manufacturing sectors?during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers have been leading a series of roundtables, bringing together businesses, business representative groups, and leading academics, including representatives from the Welsh Government, to consider the measures needed to support the UK’s economic recovery.
The Government’s support for the manufacturing sector includes £147 million towards the Made Smarter programme to support digitalisation in UK manufacturing, £1 billion for the Automotive Transformation Fund, and £1.9 billion committed to the Aerospace Technology Institute programme.
In addition, the UK Government is investing £120 million in the North Wales Growth Deal, which includes support for manufacturing. The manufacturing project that the Growth Deal is funding is run by Glyndwr University.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 volume of (a) offshore wind, (b) onshore wind and (c) solar sites which might bid into Contract for Difference Auction Round 4.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government considers a range of matters when setting the parameters for Contracts for Difference allocation rounds, including the anticipated pipeline of eligible projects. We will publish allocation round parameters in advance of the next auction in 2021, when assessments of the potential volume of participants can be informed by the most current information on project pipelines.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on allowing wedding venue viewings to take place during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s approach to the road of recovery for the reopening of businesses is a phased approach. Whilst certain businesses are starting to reopen, many businesses including the hospitality sector remain closed and so should not allow physical visits. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly engages with businesses across all sectors of the economy.