Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
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 Cabinet colleagues on the delays to completing the contract to execute the signed Head of Terms from June 2022 between the Government and Moderna for the manufacturer to open a vaccines research and manufacturing centre in the UK; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those delays on progress in delivering that centre.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government was pleased to sign the Heads of Terms agreement back in June, and since then has been working at pace with Moderna to negotiate a strategic partnership to support the UK’s vaccine resilience. During this time, relevant Ministers have been regularly kept informed of progress, and will continue to receive full briefings as the contract progresses.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expected annual (a) current and (b) capital expenditure on the new polar research vessel will be in each financial year of that project; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The new polar research vessel was named Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough in 2019 and came into service in 2021. Annual operating costs are in the region of £20 million. The ship is operated by the British Antarctic Survey a wholly owned research centre of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). All UKRI’s budget is considered capital in the national accounts.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expected annual (a) current and (b) capital expenditure on the Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme will be in each financial year of that scheme; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The amount allocated to the Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme over the 2022-2025 Spending Review period is £349.1 million. This is part of the total business case approved investment of £1.2 billion. The Programme is funded through the BEIS R&D Capital budget. The Met Office annual report and accounts are published on metoffice.gov.uk.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is her Department's policy to double dementia research funding.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are continuing to develop our long term plans for dementia, including dementia research.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expected annual (a) current and (b) capital expenditure on Help to Grow: Management will be in each financial year of that scheme; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Dean Russell
We intend to publish data on costs of both the Help to Grow programmes on the GOV.UK website by Spring 2023.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expected annual (a) current and (b) capital expenditure on Help to Grow: Digital will be in each financial year of that scheme; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Dean Russell
We intend to publish data on costs of both the Help to Grow programmes on the GOV.UK website by Spring 2023.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
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 on 21 September 2022 to Question 48327 on Help to Grow Schemes, when his Department plans to publish data on the take up of Help to Grow programmes.
Answered by Dean Russell
We intend to publish data on take up of both the Help to Grow programmes on the gov.uk website by the end of December.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform independent report, dated 16 June 2021, which of the proposals contained in that report are Government policy as of September 2022.
Answered by Dean Russell
The Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform’s (TIGRR) report shows how, with ambition and vision, the UK can deliver on the opportunities of Brexit. The Benefits of Brexit paper outlines how the government is driving forward our commitments in response to TIGRR, including forging ahead to reform our data laws, setting out a 10 year plan to make Britain a global AI superpower, building on the successes of the Vaccine Taskforce to ensure we have the world’s most innovative life sciences sector, as well as reforms to the financial services and agriculture sectors. These reforms will create a new pro-growth, high standards regulatory framework that gives businesses the confidence to innovate, invest and create jobs.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, introduced to Parliament on 22nd September, will help to accelerate delivery of the recommendations from TIGRR.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
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 potential impact of rising energy costs on the rate of business deaths.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government monitors the economy using a range of data sources. In a dynamic and competitive economy, a proportion of businesses will cease trading each year, for a range of reasons.
The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. The Government will publish a review of the scheme after 3 months to inform decisions on future support after March 2023. The review will focus in particular on identifying the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs. Continuing support to those deemed eligible would begin at the end of the initial 6-month support scheme, without a gap.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
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 impact of not securing membership to Horizon Europe on the UK's science sector.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
At the UK-EU Specialised Committee meeting on 22 September, which marked the end of the consultations period, the UK once again requested that the EU fulfil its obligation to finalise the UK’s association to EU Programmes. It is regrettable that the EU continues to decline this request. The UK government is now considering next steps. Our priority is to support the UK’s world leading R&D sector and we have already outlined potential options for doing so.
Our preference remains association to the EU programmes as agreed under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), including Horizon Europe, and we continue to do everything we can to secure this. The EU is in breach of the agreement reached under the TCA for the UK to participate in EU programmes and these unjustified delays are causing uncertainty for our research and business communities. That is why we entered into formal consultations with the EU, which are a mechanism set out in the TCA to resolve issues between the UK and the EU.
The 2021 Spending Review confirmed that if we are unable to associate, the funding allocated to Horizon association will go to UK government R&D programmes, including international partnerships.