Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential effect of the UK's decision to leave the EU on the level of funding available for businesses; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The UK will continue to have all of the rights, obligations and benefits that membership brings, including our right to draw down European funding, up until the point we leave the EU. Furthermore, as announced by My Right Honourable Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, EU funding granted before we leave the EU will be guaranteed after the UK leaves as long as it provides strong value for money and is in line with domestic strategic priorities.
Leaving the EU allows us to make fresh choices about how we shape our economy and presents an opportunity to deliver a bold, long term Industrial Strategy that builds on our strengths and prepares us for the years ahead. We will be able to take our own decisions about how to support businesses to grow and ensure that future arrangements are aligned to UK priorities.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 has taken to maintain the level of investment in research and development in Scotland in response to the UK's decision to leave the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Callum McCaig) on 25 January 2017 to Question UIN 60972.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 Minister for Women and Equalities on encouraging involvement by women in business at all levels.
Answered by Margot James
I met my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Women, Equalities and Early Years in November to discuss a number of issues around women and the labour market. The issues covered included pregnancy and maternity discrimination; the gender pay gap; the Hampton-Alexander review; and women and start-ups.
The Department and the Government Equalities Office are working together to encourage involvement by women in business, for example by supporting the independent Hampton-Alexander Review. The review is a key part of our work to reflect modern Britain by increasing the representation of women at senior leadership positions and below in FTSE 350 Companies.
We are also working to ensure we have the right businesses environment for everyone, including women, to set up and grow a business. Women are able to benefit from the full range of business support available from government, including Start-Up Loans, of which to date 38% have been issued to women.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 establishing the office of the Small Business Commissioner.
Answered by Margot James
We expect to appoint the Commissioner in 2017 and we continue to make progress on implementation. Our public consultation on the policy for regulations underpinning the Commissioner’s complaints handling function closed in December and we are preparing the Government Response.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government's future plans are for carbon capture and storage.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is considering all options for carbon capture and storage in the UK and we intend to set out our approach in due course.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 future trends in the level of investment in the North Sea oil and gas sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Office for Budget Responsibility recently published the November 2016 Economic and Fiscal Outlook which indicates a downward trend in planned capital expenditure in the oil and gas sector due to the low global oil price. Capital expenditure is expected to decrease from £10.1 billion in 2016 to £3.7 billion in 2021.
In the recent Autumn Statement my right hon. Friend the Chancellor recommitted to Driving Investment, Government’s long-term plan to ensure the oil and gas fiscal regime supports maximising economic recovery. To support this, over the past two years Government introduced measures worth £2.3bn to ensure the UK has one of the most competitive tax regimes for oil and gas in the world, safeguarding jobs and investment.
The Oil and Gas Authority has been established with a remit to maximise economic recovery of UK oil and gas reserves. The Oil and Gas Authority continues to engage with the global investment community to promote the UK Continental Shelf and attract new sources of capital. It has also been working with industry to maximise economic recovery of the UK Continental Shelf by encouraging collaboration, driving down costs and ensuring effective asset stewardship.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to improve productivity.
Answered by Margot James
The Government has made significant progress on delivering the policy recommendations in the 2015 Productivity Plan. In addition to the £23 billion announced at Autumn Statement for the new National Productivity Investment Fund, the government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy will focus on raising productivity to increase living standards for people across the UK.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what shortfall in capacity UK ports and harbours are expected to identify in regard to managing the importation of biomass fuels in each of the next 20 years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
We are aware that certain ports have an interest in replacing falling coal movements with biomass. However, it is for biomass supply chains and ports to determine the facilities that they require and which are available.
The Government does not publish projections of the future use of biomass fuels. Accurate modelling of future biomass requirements requires, among other things, knowledge of future Government policies which are yet to be decided. However, in 2011 we published an analysis of the technical potential of various biomass feedstocks which could be available for use in bioenergy. This can be found at:
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to remove subsidies for biomass fuels to discourage their importation.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government does not subsidise biomass fuels. The Government supports a range of renewable technologies which can use biomass fuels in generating low carbon energy for electricity, heat and transport. We do not distinguish between domestic and imported biomass fuels but there are standards on sustainability and greenhouse gas savings which apply to all biomass receiving subsidy.
On 9 November 2016 the Department published a call for evidence on renewable fuelled technologies in the Contracts for Difference scheme. The response to this consultation may help inform future policy decisions, including whether the support we currently offer to these technologies through the CFD is right for delivering our objectives on value for money for decarbonisation.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Government has made of the projected use of biomass fuels in each of the next 20 years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government does not publish projections of the future use of biomass fuels. Accurate modelling requires knowledge of Government policies beyond this Parliament. In 2011 we published an analysis of the technical potential of various biomass feedstocks which could be available for use in bioenergy. This can be found at: