Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
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 help increase international research partnerships.
Answered by George Freeman
In December I announced the launch of the first phase of the new International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF), underpinned by £119 million of funding.
ISPF will support and fund UK scientists and innovators to work with peers around the world on some of the most pressing issues facing our world.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what definition his Department uses for health and wellbeing in his Heat and Buildings Strategy.
Answered by Greg Hands
In the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government noted that improving the energy performance of buildings and installing low carbon heating can deliver health and wellbeing benefits, especially for those living in fuel poverty. Energy efficiency improvements help citizens avoid physical illnesses and can improve wellbeing due to cost reductions. The Strategy does not seek to define Health and Wellbeing, however this assessment is consistent with all major definitions, including those provided by the WHO, the NHS and DHSC.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department defines health and wellbeing as it applies to the Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy; and whether that definition correlates with that of the World Health Organisation.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Heat and Buildings Strategy, released last year, did not formally define health and wellbeing, however it note that improving the energy performance of buildings and installing low carbon heating can deliver benefits in both areas, especially for those living in fuel poverty. For health, it stated this can include this avoiding physical illnesses, such as heart and lung conditions and experiencing cold-related sickness. For wellbeing, making energy efficiency improvements can improve mental wellbeing, as it reduces energy costs, as well as increasing productivity by making homes warmer and more comfortable.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of health is ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ (WHO, 1948).
The use of the term ‘health and wellbeing’ in the Heat and Buildings Strategy is consistent with this definition.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has provided guidance to health and wellbeing boards on how health and wellbeing is to be applied within the context of the Government's heat and buildings strategy.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department does not provide guidance to health and wellbeing boards on how health and wellbeing is applied within the context of The Heat and Buildings Strategy.
The Government is committed to engaging with a range of stakeholders and the wider public to delivers on the Strategy’s ambitions, including health bodies, where appropriate.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support he plans to provide to people at risk of losing their jobs in Dudley North constituency due to Liberty Steel selling off plants in West Bromwich and Kidderminster.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We recognise that this is an unsettling time for Liberty Steel’s workforce. The Government stands ready to support Liberty’s dedicated employees and their families affected by any developments, should the need arise. However, it is first and foremost the responsibility of the company to manage commercial decisions regarding the future of the organisation.
We hope the company is successful in their endeavours in selling these assets. We will continue to engage closely with company and trade unions as the situation develops. Conversations with Liberty or any other company are, of course, commercially confidential
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
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 capacity of AstraZeneca to deliver sufficient quantities of its covid-19 vaccine to meet the Government target of offering a first vaccine to everyone in the most vulnerable groups by the middle of February 2021.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government has procured 100 million doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca/ vaccine.
The UK was the first country in the world to start a vaccination programme using this vaccine. Due to our swift and decisive action there has been a regular and steady supply of vaccine doses arriving in the UK since early December 2020.
We remain in close contact with all our vaccine suppliers. The UK’s vaccine supply and scheduled deliveries will fully support vaccination of priority cohorts 1 to 4, as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. We are on track to offer a first vaccine to every person in these cohorts by 15 February 2021.
As of 4 February 2021, nearly 10.5 million people across the UK have been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. The UK COVID-19 Vaccines Delivery Plan sets out how the Government will work with the NHS, devolved administrations, local councils, and the Armed Forces to deliver the largest vaccination programme in British history.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
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 it his policy to enable all hospitality venues to re-open when January 2021 covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Answered by Paul Scully
As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, we intend to publish our plan for taking the country out of lockdown in the last week of February. That plan will depend on the continued success of our vaccination programme, and on Covid-related deaths falling at the pace we would expect as more people are inoculated.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons caterers are not able to resume teaching lessons in their home in areas under tier 3 covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Paul Scully
From 6 January, a national lockdown applies in all of England. The message is to stay at home. Training can be provided online or through other means of remote learning.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many jobs the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will create in the Dudley North constituency.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Spanning clean energy, buildings, transport, nature and innovative technologies, the Ten Point Plan will mobilise £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030. In doing so we will support a further 90,000 green jobs across the UK by 2024, and up to 250,000 by 2030, building on the 460,000 jobs that already exist in the low carbon economy today.
Support for green jobs across the UK, including the West Midlands, will be delivered by:
The Energy White Paper, published in December, drives forward the Ten Point Plan commitments, reaffirming how clean energy means green jobs and economic growth for the whole country. Leading up to COP26, we will set out further ambitious plans across key sectors of the economy – including our Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
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 will take to support medical research charities who are experiencing a shortfall in income as a result of a fall in donations during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
I refer my hon Friend to the reply I gave to Question UIN 121276.