Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 enhance workers’ rights.
Answered by Paul Scully
Over the past year, we have proven our steadfast commitment to supporting workers across the UK, including raising the national living wage to its highest rate yet, to help with the cost of living.
We remain committed to bringing forward reforms which build on our strong, flexible and dynamic labour market, giving businesses the confidence to create jobs and invest in their workforce and giving workers more choice over how they work.
Numerous Private Members Bills have been introduced on the matter of employment rights, as a result of the PMB ballot in the Common and we are working closely with these members on their proposals.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 increase R&D spending in the UK.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government is providing the fastest ever sustained uplift in R&D funding, reaching £20 billion per annum by the end of the SR period – £5 billion more than 2021/22 with HM Treasury committed to £22bn in 2026/7 as part of our commitment to the target of UK economy-wide R&D investment reaching 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
In order to achieve 2.4% by 2027, we are mapping out the current private and public R&D investment by sector and modelling options for securing the necessary private sector investment, using a combination of policy tools across the R&D ecosystem – from innovation accelerators to the catapults, catalyst funds, and a range of fiscal incentives including R&D tax credits, the patient capital review, scale up capital taskforce, pension fund reforms and post-Brexit regulatory reform.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to support Ukrainian scientists and researchers in the UK.
Answered by George Freeman
The UK stands in solidarity with Ukraine, and we are assisting those who have been displaced and disrupted by this illegal invasion, including researchers and scientists.
We have announced the Researchers at Risk Fellowship Programme, which will support Ukrainian researchers fleeing the conflict, as well as those already in the UK who are unable to return home. The ‘Researchers at Risk’ programme, which launched in March 2022, was initially allocated £3m and a further £9.8 million of funding was announced on 28 June. With this funding more than 130 Ukrainian academics will be brought to, and supported in, the UK.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress he has made on formalising the UK’s association with Horizon Europe.
Answered by George Freeman
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central on 27 April 2022 to Question 156445.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 development of new low-carbon technologies in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 25th May 2022 to Question 3766.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 (a) development and (b) delivery of (i) new and (ii) advanced nuclear power in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government intends to take one project to Final Investment Decision (FID) this Parliament and future projects in the next Parliament, subject to value for money and relevant approvals.
The Government will set up Great British Nuclear later this year, which will help projects through every stage of the development process and develop a resilient pipeline of new builds. The Government is working with industry to scope its functions and has appointed Simon Bowen as industry advisory on the scoping of the organisation.
The Future Nuclear Enabling Fund was launched in May 2022, which will provide targeted support to address barriers to entry to the nuclear market.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 (a) increase the volume of energy generated by offshore wind and (b) support the development of offshore wind technology in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Electricity generated from offshore wind has increased from just under 1% of total electricity generated in 2010 to over 11% in 2021.
In April 2022, the Government released the British Energy Security Strategy, where it set out a new ambition for offshore wind: from 40 GW by 2030, including 1GW of floating wind, to an ambition of 50GW, with up to 5GW from floating wind.
The Government is providing £160 million to support new, large scale floating wind ports and manufacturing; and £31 million for development of innovative floating wind technologies.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 UK’s oil and gas sector.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 May 2022 to Question 3769.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 enhance workers’ rights.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are proud there are now more employees on the payroll than ever before, and we will continue to build a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work.
Over the past year, we have proven our commitment to supporting workers across the UK, including raising the national living wage in April 2022 to its highest rate yet, to help with the cost of living.
We remain committed to making progress and on 9 May we announced our intention to bring forward legislation which will widen the ban on exclusivity clauses, which restrict staff from working for multiple employers, to contracts where the guaranteed weekly income is equivalent to or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress his Department has made on securing business investment in the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
In April, we launched the £1.4bn Global Britain Investment Fund, which provides grant support to encourage internationally mobile companies to invest in the UK. This will ensure highly productive firms providing high skilled, high paying jobs invest in the UK bringing prosperity and economic growth.