Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he plans to take to help encourage private sector investment in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy sets out our key policies to drive growth and investment in every region across the UK. In addition to a range of sector initiatives, Northern Ireland will receive £30 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to drive transformative innovation in the Belfast and Derry/Londonderry corridor. We will also continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to establish the Enhanced Investment Zone. The Regional Investment Summit, taking place in October 2025 will showcase our regional economies and drive investment across the entirety of the UK.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This government is committed to keeping Britain economically stable to spur investment. Investment that will increase the number of good, well-skilled jobs and improve productivity across the country.
Last month the government released the Industrial and Infrastructure Strategies. These 10-year plans will create and connect people to good jobs, support new housing and neighborhoods, and ensuring people can depend on vital public services. They will also increase business investment in 8 growth-driving sectors, by making it quicker and easier for businesses to invest and providing them with the certainty and stability needed for long-term investment decisions.
To support the success of our strategies the Department for Business and Trade has a dedicated investment function in the UK and overseas, including the new expanded Office for Investment (OfI) which is the UK’s investment promotion agency. This bolstered OfI redoubles UK efforts to secure investment to drive economic growth as part of Government’s Plan for Change and targets investors in high-growth and foundational sectors. Since taking office over 600 individual investments have been supported by this government, and we will continue to work hard on landing more.
This government is also committed to supporting growth driving initiatives such as the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor. At the start of this year Science Minister Vallance was appointed as Oxford-Cambridge Innovation Champion. He will strengthen connections between OxCam and the wider UK, so this region is an economic engine for the entire nation.
These measures will encourage investment into Harpenden and Berkhamsted, with local organisations like Rothamsted Research able to benefit from participation in OxCam-related research and innovation. The Industrial Strategy’s focus on frontier manufacturing sectors, including Agri-Tech, will further support this.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what collaboration is taking place between the UK and Israel in the digital health sector; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Digital health collaboration between the United Kingdom and Israel includes the UK-Israel Tech Corridor, where the Leeds Corridor pairs National Health Service organisations with Israeli health technology companies to advance their product or clinical work. The UK also plans to host a UK-Israel Innovation Summit next year, where digital health will feature.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure investment for projects in the UK Innovation Corridor; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The R&D Places Strategy, to be published later this year, will ensure that research and innovation benefits the economy and society in nations, regions and local areas across the UK contributing to the Government’s wider levelling up ambitions. We want to build on existing place-based funding initiatives and work with stakeholders to promote increased private investment across the UK to support promising research and innovation that drives local economic growth.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the newly launched Advanced Research and Invention Agency will support the UK’s ambition to become a global scientific superpower and the work of the UK Innovation Corridor in emerging sectors such as Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and R&D.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Advance Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) will cement the UK’s position as a science superpower, building on the UK’s proud history of scientific excellence by seeking to fund transformational advances in science and technology – discoveries that create new technologies and new industries that drive our future economy. ARIA will be equipped for this work by having minimal research bureaucracy and prioritising agility: it will move quickly and decisively to ensure the UK retains its competitive edge in R&D. We will appoint an exceptional and visionary leadership team and entrust them to set the research agenda on where and what to fund for ARIA.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the announcement in the 2021 Budget of £100 billion of funding for infrastructure, how that funding will be allocated across the South East region to (a) transport projects, such as East West Rail and the West Anglia mainline, (b) the roll out of high speed broadband and 5G and (c) other services to support the long-term growth of that region and places within the UK Innovation Corridor.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government has committed to increase investment in infrastructure for the benefit of the whole of the UK. As part of this, we will invest £760 million to deliver the next phase of East West Rail, reinstating direct rail services between Bicester and Bletchley and creating 1500 skilled jobs. Local areas in the South East will also benefit from the Government’s landmark £5bn commitment to support the rollout of gigabit connectivity in the hardest to reach parts of the country and our ambition for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027. Furthermore, in 21-22 we are investing £14.6 billion in research and innovation grants and facilities across the UK, backing the priorities set out in the UK Government’s Research and Development Roadmap. The Government welcomes any endeavour that aims to support innovation and ‘build back better’, including the initiatives of the Innovation Corridor to link opportunities in the South East.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of designating Anglesey a Freeport on the ability to (a) resolve the issue of reduced trade flows in the central corridor and (b) use the central corridor to facilitate the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Freeports will be national hubs for international trade, innovation and commerce, regenerating communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country.
We want to ensure that the whole of the UK can benefit, which is why we remain committed to establishing a Freeport in Wales as soon as possible.
Any Freeport in Wales will be allocated by a fair and open process. The government will not be analysing the merits of any specific locations in advance of that.
We have reiterated our commitment to ensure Freeports policy upholds our obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether people who have recently recovered from covid-19, and who have a recent positive antibody test, can be exempt of quarantine measures, upon entering the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts
There is currently no exemption for those with a recent positive antibody test.
For those planning to travel into England, they should check the current travel corridor list to see whether they need to isolate for 14 days. They will still be required to abide by the new national restrictions set out here even if they do not need to self-isolate on arrival.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november.
The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. The Global Travel Taskforce is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism, without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Sussex Weald)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage data-sharing between highway authorities, mapping providers and satellite navigation companies to limit the use of inappropriate routes by HGVs.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government is putting the UK at the forefront of innovation in road transport. For example, we are establishing the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles, creating a ‘Connected Corridor’ from London to Dover to enable vehicles to communicate wirelessly with infrastructure and potentially other vehicles, and planning trials of truck platooning on our motorways.
The Department has brought together satnav manufacturers, mapping companies, local authorities and other industry organisations in a Satnav Summit and in further discussions. We are working with these parties to improve the information satnavs provide to road users, and enable better co-operation and information-sharing between local highway authorities and the industry through joint working.
ITS UK, an industry body, have also worked with the freight and haulage industry to promote the use of appropriate satnav devices designed specifically for HGVs.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a full list of each enterprise zone and the original date of its announcement.
Answered by Greg Hands
I set out in the table below the full list of Enterprise Zones together with the original date of announcement:
Enterprise Zone | Date of announcement |
| 23rd March 2011 |
| 17th August 2011 |
| 29th November 2011 |
| 20th August 2015 |
| 12th November 2015 |
New EZs
| 25th November 2015 |