Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 compatibility of the development of the North Sea gas field, Jackdaw, with his Department’s Energy Security Strategy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The North Sea Transition Authority plans to launch another licensing round in the autumn, taking into account the forthcoming climate compatibility checkpoint and the need for energy security.
Development proposals for oil fields under existing licences are a matter for the regulators - the North Sea Transition Authority and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED). OPRED’s decision for Jackdaw will be made in due course.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made on the £400m partnership between his Department and the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst that was announced in October 2021.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the partnership with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (BEC), progress has been made in formalising the relationship and driving value by sharing information on funding opportunities and signposting project opportunities. The Government has launched a number of funding and market development programmes in the four technology areas covered by the partnership. BEC has launched a UK request for proposals for emerging climate technology projects and is now undertaking its first round of evaluations.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 effect of the upcoming Contract for Difference Auction Round 4 on energy bills.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to minimising energy costs for businesses and consumers. Contracts for Difference offer value-for-money to consumers and continue to deliver low prices. For example, between the first allocation round in 2015 and the last round in 2019, the price per unit (MWh) of offshore wind fell by around 65%.
Competitive auctions are proven to be effective in helping to keep costs down and this year’s auction has been designed to keep the allocation process highly competitive. The impact will be dependent on the outcome of the competitive auction process; it is expected that this year’s round will have a small impact on household bills.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 Department is taking to increase the development of renewable energy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the Government’s flagship scheme for supporting renewable generation in Great Britain. The latest round is the largest yet, and aims to secure more capacity than all previous rounds combined, supporting technologies including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, tidal and floating offshore wind. In February, the Government announced that the next CfD round will be held in March 2023, and future rounds will run annually.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much and what proportion of funds obtained fraudulently through covid-19 loan schemes have since been (a) returned to or (b) reclaimed by his Department.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 30th April 2022 a total of £4,022,685 of funds, obtained fraudulently through covid-19 loan schemes, has been recovered by the National Investigation Service. Of the funds recovered, £3,010,831 was returned to lenders and the remaining £1,011,854 has been or is in the process of being returned to the Government.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of covid-19 loans that were claimed fraudulently but cannot be retrieved.
Answered by Paul Scully
We continue to work with lenders and enforcement agencies to recover fraudulently obtained loans.
The Department’s 2020-2021 Annual Report & Accounts has a central estimate for fraud and error loss of relating to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme specifically. We do not hold a central estimate for fraud and error loss for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme or the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
The final level of loss will not be known for some time, as not all suspected fraud will necessarily translate into a fraud occurrence, and because some fraudulently obtained funds will be recovered or repaid.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the number of companies that claimed loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme without ever publishing company results before the pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department does not hold this data. In order to be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, a business had to have a borrowing proposal which the lender would consider viable, were it not for the pandemic.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people have been disqualified as company directors because of misuse of covid-19 loans scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Insolvency Service has secured 159 disqualifications of company directors as a result of COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse. This includes abuse of the Bounce Back Loan (BBL) Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).
The Insolvency Service publishes official statistics of its enforcement outcomes, which provide a breakdown of figures in relation to COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse. This is available here.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 plans to take ensure to that people who reside in non-family households are not penalised if they move to other properties within the period when the energy bills rebate is recharged.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government understands there will be cases where changes in people’s circumstances mean they may not directly be the recipient of the reduction, but still see increases in future bills, or vice versa.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme, as announced by my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, is currently the subject of a government consultation issued on 11 April.
The implementation of the policy will be reviewed following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 his Department has taken to support scientific research consortia as a future funding model for domestic R&D.
Answered by George Freeman
Support for research consortia is a well-established aspect of the UK Government’s approach to funding R&D. Between 2015 – 2021, UK Research and Innovation provided over 16,500 research and innovation grants, over 65% of which were collaborative awards.[1] [2]
SR21 sets out the government’s plan to cement the UK as a global science and technology superpower, with public spending on R&D rising to £20bn in 2024/25, an increase of around a quarter in real terms over the SR period.
As the custodian of the R&D system, BEIS has been allocated £39.8bn for R&D over the SR period, the largest ever budget committed to BEIS for R&D. This investment will continue to support both individual researchers and groups of researchers working in consortia to solve the biggest challenges facing society.
It will also encourage private sector investments and give the market players the confidence that they are backing national priorities – so that the public and private sector can come together to deliver breakthroughs, like the Covid-19 vaccine, that can transform our lives and economic prospects.
[1] https://www.ukri.org/publications/competitive-funding-decisions-data-2015-to-2020/
[2] https://www.ukri.org/publications/competitive-funding-decisions-data-2020-to-2021