Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of deliberate power cuts over the next six months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. The Government is confident in its plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter. The Government is ensuring that the UK is prepared for all eventualities and continues to work closely with Ofgem, National Grid and other key industry organisations to monitor the energy supply horizon and prepare for the upcoming winter.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of mucosal covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
UKRI has already funded significant research activity in this space, through a broad portfolio of work in underpinning immunology, virology and vaccinology and a rich portfolio of vaccine development programmes. Specific exemplar programmes supported through a variety of mechanisms have been identified as with immediate relevance to the development of next generation SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics and vaccines including mucosal vaccines.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department expects the £400 energy grant to start being paid to households.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Electricity suppliers have started delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) discount to households in GB with a domestic electricity meter from this October.
Direct debit and credit customers have had the money credited to their account or paid into their account. Customers with smart prepayment meters have had the discount applied remotely to their meter. Customers with traditional prepayment meters receive a voucher or Special Action Message (SAM) from their supplier from the first week of each month. We are developing schemes to support households in GB who are not eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme, and in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a scheme to allow small businesses to receive financial support to part fund improvements to their business that would contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Support is available to businesses to reduce their carbon emissions and energy bills through the Government's Climate Change Agreements Scheme and the £289m Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
There are also a number of local advice and support schemes that businesses can apply to here: https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 written to the British Geological Survey to discuss the three month review of the evidence relating to fracking across the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is grateful to the British Geological Survey for their recent review of the science related to seismic events induced by hydraulic fracturing for shale gas exploration. The report ‘Recent scientific advances in the understanding of induced seismicity from hydraulic fracturing of shales’ has been received and carefully considered, and has also been published at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-geological-science-of-shale-gas-fracturing.
The Government will continue to work with the British Geological Survey on this and other matters.