Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
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 the use of renewable liquid fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil in home heating.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department has recently published a Call for Evidence to inform the development of the Biomass Strategy. This strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels, and how this could be best used across the economy to achieve our net zero target. It will also assess the UK’s current biomass sustainability standards, which are some of the most stringent in the world, to see where and how we can improve them even further.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing duty for (a) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (b) other renewable liquid fuels for home heating purposes.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Hydrotreated vegetable oil is a direct substitute for diesel and it is therefore taxed at the rebated rate for diesel when it is used for home heating. There are no duty incentives for renewable fuels used as a direct substitute for diesel, and it would be difficult to legislate for a complex scale of duty rates to be applied to different hydrocarbon oil products. The Government will keep this under review to determine whether there is a case to make changes to the taxation of this fuel.
The UK is the first major economy in the world to legislate for net zero emissions by 2050 and the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive, currently worth over £1 billion per year, supports households to install renewable heating systems such as heat pumps and biomass boilers. The forthcoming Heat and Building Strategy will set out the Government’s position on the transition to low carbon off gas-grid heating, but fiscal decisions are a matter for Budgets.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when data collected at 12 hours from the point of arrival at emergency departments will be available from hospital trusts.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on 12 hour waiting times in accident and emergency departments is collected and published by NHS Digital. The latest data available is for the period 2019-20 and is available at the following link:
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what collaboration is taking place between the UK and US on the UK’s replacement warhead programme.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
We are working with our U.S. counterparts to ensure the UK replacement warhead remains compatible with the Trident missile. The UK Replacement Warhead will be designed, developed and manufactured in the UK. It will be housed in the Mk7 aeroshell, as will the U.S. W93 warhead, but the requirements, design and manufacture of the warheads are sovereign to each nation. This is consistent with our obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on a strategy to boost exports of Welsh hydrogen technology.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The global annual hydrogen market is estimated to potentially be worth over $1 trillion by 2050, and the global hydrogen project pipeline is estimated at $90bn today. The UK Government’s focus is to seize the opportunity to export UK skills, capability and technology into the growing global hydrogen market.
The UK Government is already investing in hydrogen technologies and is an active partner in a range of international initiatives.
The UK Government continues to explore the export opportunities associated with developing a low carbon hydrogen economy and to attract inward investment.
I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for International Trade on increasing Welsh exports.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether the Government plans to set a target for hydrogen production in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution confirms the UK Government’s ambition, working with industry, for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. As we progress towards this ambition, we would hope to see around 1GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2025.
I and my officials continue to work closely with colleagues across government to raise awareness of the interest in Wales in the role of low-carbon hydrogen in the transition to net-zero.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the role hydrogen passenger vehicles can play in supporting the growth of the Welsh hydrogen economy.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The UK Government is committed to exploring all options for low carbon hydrogen across freight, buses, trains, maritime, and aviation to ensure that the UK can lead the world in its deployment and use across the economy.
The Department for Transport is working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on a new overarching hydrogen strategy setting out how to deliver all the benefits of a hydrogen economy for the UK, including for transport.
Whilst we expect hydrogen to play a key role in decarbonising transport, it is likely to be most effective in the areas ‘that batteries cannot reach’, where energy density requirements or duty cycles and refuelling times make it the most suitable low carbon energy source.
At this point, progressing the hydrogen economy as a whole in the UK means rapidly expanding our expertise, innovation and infrastructure deployments to create a critical mass and overcome barriers to production and use.
I and my officials continue to work closely with colleagues across government to raise awareness of the interest in Wales in the role of low-carbon hydrogen in the transition to net-zero, including in the transport sector.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps he is taking to grow the hydrogen economy in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution confirms the UK Government’s ambition, working with industry, for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. As we progress towards this ambition, we would hope to see around 1GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2025.
This will be supported by the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund confirmed out to 2025, intended to support both CCUS enabled (blue) hydrogen and electrolytic (green) hydrogen production.
In the first half of this year, the government will publish a Hydrogen Strategy which will set out an action plan for decarbonisation and expansion of hydrogen in the 2020s across the UK.
There are already promising signs of interest and innovation around hydrogen production and utilisation in Wales, which the UK Government is backing.
For example, the Riversimple Clean Mobility Fleet was awarded £1.2m from the UK Government’s Hydrogen Transport Programme to develop fuel cell electric vehicles.
The Milford Haven Energy Kingdom has received a £1m grant from UK Research and Innovation to develop diverse, local seed markets to support the transition to hydrogen and renewables along the Milford Haven Waterway.
The South Wales Industrial Cluster has received funding from the UK Government’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge to explore options to transition the region’s industries to net-zero, including by considering the role of low-carbon hydrogen.
I and my officials continue to work closely with colleagues across government to raise awareness of the interest in Wales in the role of low-carbon hydrogen in the transition to net-zero.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether the Government plans to set a target for the deployment of hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
Whilst it is true that battery electric vehicles dominate the current zero emission vehicle market, we recognise the potential of hydrogen as another solution for zero emission transport, particularly for heavier road vehicles.
The fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) and hydrogen refuelling market is in its infancy and government has taken steps to support its growth in the UK.
For example, the Hydrogen for Transport Programme, launched in 2017, set out the next steps to develop the UK hydrogen vehicle market, providing up to £23m of new grant funding to support the growth of refuelling infrastructure alongside the deployment of new vehicles. The programme awarded £1.2m to the Riversimple Clean Mobility Fleet initiative, led by the Welsh company, Riversimple, alongside Monmouthshire County Council.
The Department for Transport’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan will discuss the potential role for hydrogen in decarbonising the transport sector, including road transport.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) scope and (b) terms of reference are of the taskforce on reducing the frequency and volumes of sewage discharges from storm overflows.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Storm Overflows Taskforce comprises representatives of Defra, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, CCW, Water UK and a water company. In addition, Blueprint for Water have been asked to nominate a representative to the group. I will ensure that the Rt Honourable Member receives a copy of the terms of reference. The Taskforce meets regularly and is developing proposals to reduce the frequency and volumes of spills from storm overflows. The group is exploring further short-term actions water companies can take to accelerate progress on storm overflows. The first phase of the taskforce to develop short term actions runs until November 2020. The second phase, to develop proposals and mechanisms to reduce the frequency and volumes of spills from storm overflows, will report in spring 2021. No timescale for how long the Taskforce will operate has been set as yet.