Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps ensure that the intellectual property chapter in a free trade agreement with India includes commitments to the (a) UN Sustainable Development Goals, (b) International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and (c) UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister on 18 November, the Prime Minister announced that UK-India trade talks will relaunch in the new year.
While we do not comment on the details of negotiations, work is underway across government to prepare for negotiations with India and to seek a deal that delivers for the UK and supports economic growth.
Our trade programme, including talks with India, is driven by stakeholder engagement and seeks to support the high existing standards within our own domestic Intellectual Property Regime and as agreed in international fora.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of adding carbon capture, utilisation and storage costs onto household bills.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have created several business models to fund CCUS projects, designed to ensure value for money whilst providing long term sight of revenue streams for investors. CCUS will be funded by a mixture of exchequer and levy sources, the exact split to be determined in due course. Negotiations with projects are ongoing and therefore commercially confidential. Final awards will be published on the UK subsidy database. We will continue to learn from the first clusters as they approach Final Investment Decisions and apply these lessons to further development of CCUS to ensure that it delivers value for money.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has for increased (a) funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and (b) support for additional low-carbon heating technologies.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 21 November the Government announced £30 million of additional budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for this financial year in response to increased uptake to the scheme. It was also confirmed that the scheme budget for the next financial year will be almost doubled to £295 million. Budgets for subsequent years will be confirmed in the second phase of the Spending Review.
The Government has also announced support for social housing and lower income households through the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant which includes support for low carbon heating.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to National Insurance contributions in the Autumn Budget 2024 on (a) social care and (b) NHS services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken tough decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget. This enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented April 2025. The Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course, including through NHS Planning Guidance and the usual consultations.
The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process. This assessment took into account a wide range of factors, including changes to employer National Insurance contributions, and the National Living Wage increases.
In response to the range of pressures facing local authorities, the Government is providing a real-terms uplift to core local government spending power of approximately 3.2%, which includes £1.3 billion of new grant funding in 2025/26.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many civil servants in his Department are working on (a) demand flexibility, (b) Great British Energy, (c) hydrogen, (d) carbon capture and storage, (e) nuclear energy, (f) the review of electricity market arrangements, (g) heat electrification and (h) biomass.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has around 4500 full time equivalents (FTE) working across multiple policy areas and programmes. These include demand flexibility, Great British Energy, Carbon capture, utilisation and storage, hydrogen, nuclear, the review of electricity market arrangements, heat electrification and biomass, amongst others. The Department’s resourcing is recorded and aligned to its organisation structure, rather than to portfolios. This means we are unable to provide a detailed breakdown for each of the areas mentioned.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to allow large-scale development consent order solar projects to bid for future Contracts for Difference auctions.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar projects over 5MW were eligible to apply for Allocation Round 6. The Government is committed to accelerating solar deployment to meet clean power 2030 and reviews the Contracts for Difference scheme before every round to ensure it continues to deliver this and other objectives. We will confirm details for Allocation Round 7, including eligibility, in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 (a) restoring a three-year window for solar photovoltaics and (b) allowing solar Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects to bid in future Contracts for Difference auctions.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar projects over 5MW were eligible to apply for Allocation Round 6. The Government is committed to accelerating solar deployment to meet clean power 2030 and reviews the Contracts for Difference scheme before every round to ensure it continues to deliver this and other objectives. We will confirm details for Allocation Round 7, including eligibility, in due course.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes made to National Insurance contributions at the Autumn Budget 2024 on not-for-profit social care providers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Budget will provide support for government departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer NICs costs. Private sector firms or charities, including social care providers, that are contracted by central or local government will not be exempt from these changes.
This is consistent with the approach to previous Employer NICs changes, as was the case with the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
The government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care and wider local government spending as part of the Spending Review process.
The government is providing a real-terms uplift to core local government spending power of around 3.2% which includes £1.3bn of new grant funding for 2025-26 – at least £600 million of which is new grant funding to support social care.
The government also provides support for charities, including hospices, via our tax regime, which is among the most generous of anywhere in the world, with tax reliefs for charities and their donors, worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of funding from the public purse for Sizewell C has been (a) spent on and (b) committed to companies with headquarters in (i) the UK and (ii) what foreign countries.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The details of contracts agreed by Sizewell C with its suppliers are commercially sensitive. The project has made a commitment to spend 70 per cent of the construction value in the UK.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether respiratory health conditions will be prioritised in the new NHS 10-year plan.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Respiratory health conditions make up some of the biggest killers in our country and are a clinical priority, and I look forward to meeting with the Respiratory Health APPG soon. This government is committed to fixing our broken NHS in order to deliver better access to diagnosis and care. I thank the Honourable Lady for raising the 10 year plan for health and would encourage her to follow thousands of others in having her say through change.nhs.uk.