Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the amount of power that will be available through nuclear generation in 2050.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We are going to need a substantial increase in low carbon generation to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050. Nuclear power currently provides around 20% of our electricity generation and is likely to have an important role in delivering a low cost, stable, reliable, lowcarbon system in 2050.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which (a) goods and (b) services he Department has classified as vital for UK national security.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Government has the power to intervene in mergers that raise public interest concerns including national security. The Government looks at each merger on a case by case basis.
Since 2015, the Government has intervened under the Enterprise Act 2002 on the grounds of national security on four occasions: Sepura/Hytera (2017), Northern Aerospace/Gardner Aerospace (2018), Inmarsat/Connect Bidco (2019) and Cobham/AI Convoy Bidco (2019).
Each year, Cabinet Office publishes sector security and resilience plans. The plans set out the thirteen critical national infrastructure sectors and their resilience in relation to the risks identified in the National Risk Assessment. The plans can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sector-resilience-plans.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what screening of overseas companies her Department undertakes in relation to national security in advance of foreign direct investment by those companies.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Government has the power to intervene in mergers that raise public interest concerns including national security. The Government looks at each merger on a case by case basis.
Since 2015, the Government has intervened under the Enterprise Act 2002 on the grounds of national security on four occasions: Sepura/Hytera (2017), Northern Aerospace/Gardner Aerospace (2018), Inmarsat/Connect Bidco (2019) and Cobham/AI Convoy Bidco (2019).
Each year, Cabinet Office publishes sector security and resilience plans. The plans set out the thirteen critical national infrastructure sectors and their resilience in relation to the risks identified in the National Risk Assessment. The plans can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sector-resilience-plans.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in how many business transactions the Government has intervened in the interests of national security since 2015.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Government has the power to intervene in mergers that raise public interest concerns including national security. The Government looks at each merger on a case by case basis.
Since 2015, the Government has intervened under the Enterprise Act 2002 on the grounds of national security on four occasions: Sepura/Hytera (2017), Northern Aerospace/Gardner Aerospace (2018), Inmarsat/Connect Bidco (2019) and Cobham/AI Convoy Bidco (2019).
Each year, Cabinet Office publishes sector security and resilience plans. The plans set out the thirteen critical national infrastructure sectors and their resilience in relation to the risks identified in the National Risk Assessment. The plans can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sector-resilience-plans.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the security of supply of rare earth metals required by industry.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made any formal assessment of the security of supply of rare earth elements. However, neodymium and dysprosium are included on the EU’s list of critical raw materials, because of their high economic importance and high supply risk. Tellurium is not on that list, but the Government is aware of its scarcity and importance to manufacturing of alloys and some electronic equipment.
We enjoy strong relationships with a huge range of companies and business representatives and through those conversations we have not been made aware of any specific concerns regarding the supply of these materials.
I can also confirm that I have not held specific conversations with any country regarding rare earth elements. However, the UK Government’s long-held approach to ensuring sufficient supply of materials is through lobbying for free, fair and open global markets. As my rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister has stated, we want to ensure that we promote the greatest possible trade with the world.
Through our day-to-day contacts with industry, we will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on rare earth metals imports into the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made any formal assessment of the security of supply of rare earth elements. However, neodymium and dysprosium are included on the EU’s list of critical raw materials, because of their high economic importance and high supply risk. Tellurium is not on that list, but the Government is aware of its scarcity and importance to manufacturing of alloys and some electronic equipment.
We enjoy strong relationships with a huge range of companies and business representatives and through those conversations we have not been made aware of any specific concerns regarding the supply of these materials.
I can also confirm that I have not held specific conversations with any country regarding rare earth elements. However, the UK Government’s long-held approach to ensuring sufficient supply of materials is through lobbying for free, fair and open global markets. As my rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister has stated, we want to ensure that we promote the greatest possible trade with the world.
Through our day-to-day contacts with industry, we will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) reliability of supply of (i) dysprosium and (ii) neodymium for the manufacture of (A) wind turbines and (B) electric vehicles.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made any formal assessment of the security of supply of rare earth elements. However, neodymium and dysprosium are included on the EU’s list of critical raw materials, because of their high economic importance and high supply risk. Tellurium is not on that list, but the Government is aware of its scarcity and importance to manufacturing of alloys and some electronic equipment.
We enjoy strong relationships with a huge range of companies and business representatives and through those conversations we have not been made aware of any specific concerns regarding the supply of these materials.
I can also confirm that I have not held specific conversations with any country regarding rare earth elements. However, the UK Government’s long-held approach to ensuring sufficient supply of materials is through lobbying for free, fair and open global markets. As my rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister has stated, we want to ensure that we promote the greatest possible trade with the world.
Through our day-to-day contacts with industry, we will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the security of supply of (a) the rare earths neodymium and dysprosium and (b) tellurium.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made any formal assessment of the security of supply of rare earth elements. However, neodymium and dysprosium are included on the EU’s list of critical raw materials, because of their high economic importance and high supply risk. Tellurium is not on that list, but the Government is aware of its scarcity and importance to manufacturing of alloys and some electronic equipment.
We enjoy strong relationships with a huge range of companies and business representatives and through those conversations we have not been made aware of any specific concerns regarding the supply of these materials.
I can also confirm that I have not held specific conversations with any country regarding rare earth elements. However, the UK Government’s long-held approach to ensuring sufficient supply of materials is through lobbying for free, fair and open global markets. As my rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister has stated, we want to ensure that we promote the greatest possible trade with the world.
Through our day-to-day contacts with industry, we will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has issued to businesses on preparing their workforce for the effect of the introduction of Artificial Intelligence.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s vision to make the UK a global centre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data innovation. We have committed to improving the UK's system for training in digital skills and lifelong learning, to ensure that working people have the support they need to benefit from the opportunities offered by automation towards a higher-wage future. Government is in regular discussion with business and business representative organisations, including issues affecting the workforce.
The AI Sector Deal brings together commitments from Government, Industry and Academia in a £0.95bn package of support to promote the adoption and use of AI, supported by up to £110 million government investment, which includes:
Government is investing £406 million in maths, digital and technical education, and in the 2018 Autumn Budget, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an initial £100 million to start the roll out of the National Retraining Scheme, an ambitious, far-reaching programme to drive adult learning and retraining.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
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 developed a strategy for the development of new quantum technologies.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As part of the UK Industrial Strategy, government will be refreshing the 2015 national strategy for quantum technologies in collaboration with National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP) partners.
This will follow a refresh of the programme’s governance arrangements, in response to the scale of private investment anticipated under phase 2 of the 10-year NQTP.
In Autumn Statement 2013, the UK government announced an investment of £270m over five years into the first phase of the NQTP, intended to move quantum technology out of laboratories and into the marketplace, to boost British business and make a real difference to everyday lives.
The national strategy itself was drawn up in 2015 by the Quantum Technologies Strategic Advisory Board (QT SAB). It was published by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and its recommendations are delivered mainly through the work of the NQTP. In 2018, the UK government committed a further £315m (subject to business case approval) towards the second phase – due to start in 2019.
The strategy aims to create a coherent government, industry and academic community that will give the UK a world-leading position in the emerging multi-billion-pound quantum technology markets, delivering transformational improvements across areas as diverse as sensing, imaging, computing and communications, and substantially enhancing the value of some of the biggest UK-based industries such as finance, defence, aerospace, energy and telecommunications.