Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the electrification of onshore marine ports.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are committed to Britain becoming a Clean Energy Superpower and ports are a key part of that mission. Ports are primarily private entities and the cost of electrification of onshore marine ports varies from port to port depending on the port's needs. The cost can be significantly higher or lower depending on the electricity demand and the distance from a connection point.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK SHORE funding; and what is the status of the future of that funding.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK SHORE programme has funded over 150 projects and has leveraged over £100m private investment, supporting all levels of research and development including feasibility studies, trials and demonstrations in a commercial environment. The funding is benefitting all 12 regions in the UK, supporting over 350 organisations, including over 200 SMEs.
All projects are detailed on Innovate UK’s website and we are conducting in independent evaluation assessment of the programme which is measuring its impact and helping us shape future support as well as policy.
Following the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, DfT now has its budget for the next Financial Year (2025 / 2026). We are waiting for the internal business planning process to conclude before we can confirm what that means in terms of funding for individual programmes.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to develop the electrification of ports.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The new Government’s manifesto made it clear that the “grid has become the single biggest obstacle to the deployment of cheap, clean power generation and the electrification of industry.” My Department meets regularly with ports and District Network Operations (DNOs) to understand the challenges they face in relation to electrification, to signpost information and to raise their concerns across government. As a mission driven government, the Secretary of State for Transport attends the Clean Energy Mission Board, which is chaired by DESNZ Secretary of State, a key focus of which grid investment and connection's process reform.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of GB Energy supporting grid connection.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy (GBE) will drive clean energy deployment. Across its different functions, GBE will offer a range of support to turbocharge the growth of energy projects, including through project development. The electricity grid is a key enabler for the deployment of clean power generation and Government will work with industry to upgrade our national transmission infrastructure. I do not anticipate that GBE will be directly involved in providing grid connections. However, by working with National Energy System Operator, Ofgem, The Crown Estate and other stakeholders, GBE could provide a coordinated approach to grid connections, helping to accelerate and derisk the delivery of clean energy technologies.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has made on tackling unregulated cosmetic procedures; and whether he plans to follow up on the previous Government's consultation on that matter.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is currently considering what steps may need to be taken in relation to the safety of the non-surgical cosmetics sector and will set out its position at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's paper entitled, A summary of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans, published on 21 March 2024, whether he has issued a deadline to water companies for the (a) design, (b) planning and (c) building of new water supplies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are required to publish a statutory water resource management plan (WRMP) every 5 years. If the need for new water supplies is identified as a result of the assessments carried out to develop the WRMP, the company will set out the timescales within which the proposed schemes will be delivered in order to meet the forecast need. The detailed design, planning and building of these schemes is managed by the individual water companies to deliver the schemes within the timescales set out in the WRMP. The water companies report on the progress with delivery of their statutory WRMPs to Defra every year via the WRMP Annual Review process.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to provide support to (a) Tronox in Stallingborough and (b) other titanium dioxide pigment manufacturers on decarbonising their production processes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) is a £500m grant fund programme which supports industrial sites with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future. The Government has encouraged applications to the IETF from the chemicals sector and chemicals sites have received support from the IETF. The outcomes of applications to Phase 3.1 of the IETF are waiting on the autumn fiscal event, so that they can be finalised and applicants can be informed.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing tariffs on Chinese-produced imported titanium dioxide in the context of recent tariff decisions taken by the (a) EU and (b) US.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department remains alert to significant trade remedy cases between WTO members and will continue to closely monitor those cases where the UK has an interest.
While there has not yet been an assessment, as the Trade Remedies Authority has no open investigations on imports of dumped or subsidised titanium dioxide, we would encourage UK producers to contact the Trade Remedies Authority, who may consider an investigation, if they do have concerns.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of agreeing to the asks of the striking maternity support workers in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. Resolution is for local determination by the employing organisation and respective trade unions. Employers are responsible for correctly and consistently implementing the NHS Job Evaluation scheme.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with striking maternity support workers in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency on their requests.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This is a local issue and resolution should be the product of local employer and trade union negotiations. It is for employers to correctly and consistently implement the NHS Job Evaluation scheme.