Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to adopt similar proposals to the European Union on introducing a common charging cable for mobile phones by 2024 and laptops by 2026.
Answered by Dean Russell
The Government is aware of the EU’s proposal for a single charging solution for certain electronic devices. We are not currently considering replicating this requirement in domestic law.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will take steps to prevent the sale of low rating banded white goods to help cut energy consumption in households.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2021 the Government introduced a new package of measures setting out standards to remove the worst performing fridges, washing machines, washer dryers and dishwashers from the market, as well as improvements to the energy labelling scheme to allow consumers to better identify the most efficient appliances.
The Government also published the Energy-Related Products Framework in November 2021, which set out our plans for developing further standards and improvements to labelling.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 assessment of the potential merits of the creation a new ministerial role with specific responsibility for leading the replacement of animal experiments with human relevant science.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government continues to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) for the use of animals in scientific procedures. This is achieved through UK Research and Innovation’s funding of the National Centre for the 3Rs, which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of non-animal technologies, and through research into the development of alternatives by Innovate UK, the Medical Research Council, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
The Government is committed to the development of alternatives to using animals in scientific procedures and to avoiding unnecessary suffering. As laid out in the List of Ministerial responsibilities, I am the Minister with lead responsibility in this area.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 17 May 2022 to Question 960, if he will place a copy of the equality impact assessment carried out by the Insolvency Service on its plan to close offices including in Plymouth in the Library.
Answered by Paul Scully
The overarching Equality Impact Assessment which has been completed for all offices, including Plymouth, affected by the plan to restructure the Insolvency Service’s estate to eleven regional offices will be placed in the House Library.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 place a copy of the full business case for the Insolvency Service Future Estate Strategy in the Library.
Answered by Paul Scully
It would not be appropriate to place a copy of the business case for the Insolvency Service’s move to regional centres in the Library as it contains commercially sensitive information.
This strategy involves closing 10 smaller sites and developing regional centres in the 11 locations in which the Insolvency Service currently has offices. These centres will enable it to provide services more efficiently, with greater flexibility to respond to future changes in demand for services. The Insolvency Service has put in place measures to support staff in affected offices to transfer to their nearest regional centre.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what equality impact assessment has been carried out as part of the decision to close the Insolvency Office in (a) Plymouth and (b) other areas; and whether that assessment found any staff to be negatively affected by the closure in Plymouth.
Answered by Paul Scully
An overarching Equality Impact Assessment has been completed for all offices, including Plymouth, affected by the plan to restructure the Insolvency Service’s estate to eleven regional centres. Discussions are currently taking place with each staff member affected by these plans, and there is a range of support available to help people transition to their nearest regional centre.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Minister is responsible for decisions relating to the movement of the UK’s time zone from Greenwich Meantime to British Summer Time.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has no plans to change the daylight-saving arrangements. The Government believes that the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 made a recent assessment of the potential merits of moving the UK to a single time zone instead of British Summer Time/GMT.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has no plans to change the daylight-saving arrangements. The Government believes that the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) primary residences, (b) second homes and (c) uninhabited properties in the UK are owned by Russian nationals.
Answered by Paul Scully
HM Land Registry (HMLR) registers legal ownership, interests, mortgages and other secured loans against land and property in England and Wales. Land Registration is a devolved matter in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.
The Register of Title held by HMLR does not record the nationality of individuals who own land or property, or whether that property is a primary residence, second home or uninhabited property.
Further details about the information that HM Land Registry holds, what is publicly available, and how it can be obtained, is set out online via the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he classes fuel meal generated from fallen animal stock as renewable energy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Renewable Obligation defines biomass to be any material, other than fossil fuel, which is, or is derived directly or indirectly from, plant matter, animal matter, fungi, algae or bacteria. The Government only supports renewable energy generation from biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria.