Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement on 9 November 2021 that the Government would invest £210 million to develop small modular reactors in the UK, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the likely overall impact of that investment and (b) the progress that has been made in achieving that end up to 5 September 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Advanced Nuclear Fund includes up to £210 million announced in November 2021 for Rolls-Royce SMR to develop the design for one of the world’s first Small Modular Reactors, potentially capable of deployment in the UK in the early 2030s. This has already leveraged £280m of private sector investment to support the project and wider activities.
The project has completed significant engineering milestones, and the key objective of completing Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment by Spring 2025 remains achievable – a view shared by the Infrastructure & Projects Authority in their July 2022 report.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 incentivise new onshore wind projects.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is providing ongoing support to onshore wind via the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. In July 2022, the results of allocation round four of the CfD were published. Onshore wind secured support for almost 900MW of capacity. There will be annual CfD auctions to accelerate low carbon electricity generation from 2023. Furthermore, as set out in the British Energy Security Strategy the Government will consult this year on developing local partnerships for supportive communities in England who wish to host new onshore wind infrastructure in return for benefits, such as lower energy bills.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many packets and parcels were processed through Post Office counters in each of the last five years for which records are available.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Information on the number of parcels and packets processed through the Post Office is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on providing a wider range of Post Office services through banking hubs.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Ministers have had discussions with the Post Office CEO, Nick Read, to discuss the future of bank hubs. As part of the industry-led Community Access to Cash Pilots, Post Office Limited (POL) have been trialing the Bank Hub format since April 2021 both in Rochford and in Cambuslang near Glasgow.
Five new Bank Hubs are due to be operational by end of 2022 (with three more commissioned, likely at the start of next year).
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the investment provided to the Post Office by the Government in November 2020 to maintain and enhance the network of post offices in England.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Over the past ten years, the Government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network. The funding includes a subsidy to ensure the viability of rural and community branches. Since 2019 this subsidy has been maintained at £50 million a year and will remain at the same level until 2025.
Through Government funding, Post Office Limited (POL) is on a more sustainable footing; ensuring POL continues to meet the core requirements for the network, including maintaining a network of at least 11,500 branches and ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of their nearest branch.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with retail business owners on plans to reintroduce imperial measurements.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s commitment to review the current law on units of measurement was first announced in September 2021, as part of our plans to capitalise on the benefits of Brexit.
The purpose of the review is to identify how we can give more choice to businesses and consumers over the units of measurement they use for trade, while ensuring that measurement information remains accurate.
As part of this review, we are carrying out an early-stage consultation to gather views and to ensure that we have the best evidence available to make changes. We encourage retail business owners to share their views in response to the consultation.
An assessment of any economic impact will be carried out in due course, as part of the normal policy-making process.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to publish a cost-benefit analysis of the reintroduction of imperial measurements.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s commitment to review the current law on units of measurement was first announced in September 2021, as part of our plans to capitalise on the benefits of Brexit.
The purpose of the review is to identify how we can give more choice to businesses and consumers over the units of measurement they use for trade, while ensuring that measurement information remains accurate.
As part of this review, we are carrying out an early-stage consultation to gather views and to ensure that we have the best evidence available to make changes. We encourage retail business owners to share their views in response to the consultation.
An assessment of any economic impact will be carried out in due course, as part of the normal policy-making process.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent the establishment of new coal mining sites.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has committed to phase-out coal power by 2024 – a year earlier than planned. Coal mining in the UK has been in long term decline reflecting falling domestic demand. There are only a handful of operational mines remaining in the UK.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 merits of halting the development of the North Sea gas field, Jackdaw, which is currently being assessed by the oil and gas regulator.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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). As part of that regulatory process, OPRED completes an Environmental Impact Assessment and a public consultation on any proposal, ensuring the impact on the environment is taken into account. OPRED’s decision on the Environmental Impact Assessment for Jackdaw will be made in due course.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 made an assessment of the impact on residents of reduced hours for postal collection recently introduced by Royal Mail for post boxes in Ealing.
Answered by Paul Scully
Changes to local collection hours are operational matters for Royal Mail in ensuring an efficient and sustainable universal postal service.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator for postal services, requires Royal Mail to publish and maintain clear and updated information on specified collection times.