Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to reduce tariffs on British ceramic exports.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When exporting products, such as ceramics, to a third country, tariffs will depend on the third country’s own tariff schedule and whether the UK has a trade agreement in place with them.
We are seeking to secure Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with global trading partners, such as Japan, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand which will open new markets for UK businesses. This is part of our wider ambition for 80% of UK trade to be covered by FTAs within three years.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to engage with ceramic businesses as part of negotiating free trade agreements.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Department will continue to speak regularly with the ceramics industry, so that the new Free Trade Agreements we are seeking with trading partners such as the US, Japan and Australia and New Zealand work for British businesses.
Our new Trade Advisory Groups (TAGs), including a dedicated “British Manufactured and Consumer Goods TAG”, support our engagement with businesses across the whole of the British economy. Businesses’ expertise and advice will be critical to helping our negotiators deliver key industry asks that benefit every corner of our country, including tariffs on products like ceramics.
The ceramics industry has emphasised the market access opportunities that exist in the US ceramics market, specifically in kitchenware and tableware. High tariffs there, of up to 28%, are currently a significant trade barrier.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support innovation in zero emissions in primary industries and manufacturing, including (1) metal recycling and production, (2) ceramics and brick kilns, and (3) fertiliser and chemical production processes.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to supporting both the decarbonisation of UK industry and its competitiveness.
At the 2020 Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK Government will at least double the size of the BEIS Energy Innovation Programme to £1billion, focussed on decarbonising UK power, homes and industry to meet the challenge of net zero.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
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 is taking to support research and development in the ceramics industry to help reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
At the 2020 Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government will at least double the size of the Department’s Energy Innovation Programme to £1 billion. This programme will focus on decarbonising UK power, homes, and industry (including ceramics), to meet the challenge of net zero emissions by 2050.
Ceramics, along with the other 5 sectors that make up the foundation industries, are eligible for a share of the £66 million Transforming Foundation Industries element of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. This Challenge looks to reduce environmental impact, including carbon emissions, through resource and energy efficiency. We are funding a number of projects relevant to the ceramics industry, including hybrid sintering, the development of new ceramic fibres for enhanced filtering, heat recovery in furnaces, robotics-based optimisation, and non-combustible cladding systems.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a national museum for the study of Black, Asian and minority ethnic history and culture on a similar scale and model to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
There are currently no plans to expand the portfolio of DCMS-Sponsored national museums.
Many of the existing national museums display material relating to Black, Asian and minority ethnic history and culture as part of their permanent exhibitions. This includes material displayed at the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, V&A, Tate, Horniman, and National Museums Liverpool. These collections include art, ceramics, fashion and photography. Many museums work with diaspora communities to better understand collection items and place them in historical and contemporary context. A number of museums have also held temporary exhibitions that focus on Black, Asian and minority ethnic history and culture.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
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 invite the ceramics sector to be part of one of the five Industrial Strategy Taskforces.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The ceramics sector is a valued part of the UK economy. The recovery roundtables that my Hon friend refers to are intensive engagements and it is important they are focused. Inevitably, there is a limit on the number of organisations that can join. Attendees do not encompass the full range of stakeholders that the Department engages with, and we welcome written comments from anyone that wishes to share their views.
We also continue to hold extensive engagement that will feed into this important work with stakeholders from across the economy, outside of the recovery roundtbales. I would value the views of the ceramics sector as part of this process.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
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 provide support to the ceramics industry to help that industry to decarbonise.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department works closely with the ceramics industry to support its efforts to decarbonise.
Manufacturers of ceramics will soon be able to access the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, a scheme to help businesses with high energy use to reduce their emissions and energy costs by investing in clean technologies. The first phase will open for applications this summer, supporting industrial energy efficiency projects, as well as feasibility and engineering studies.
Ceramics firms can also access the Industrial Heat Recovery Support Programme. This grant funding programme helps manufacturing businesses to identify and invest in opportunities for recovering and reusing industrial waste heat. A total of £18 million is available to support industrial heat recovery projects across England and Wales.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of a UK global tariff on the viability of UK ceramics manufacturers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In setting tariffs on ceramics goods, we have reflected carefully on the interests of UK businesses, manufacturers and consumers as well as to the views expressed through the UK’s public consultation conducted in February 2020. Tariffs have been retained for most ceramic products. For example, tariffs on table and kitchenware are being retained at 12%.
Tariffs are a tax, therefore the Government will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) alongside the secondary legislation, which will be made under Section 8 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018. This is standard practice. More analysis will be available in the TIIN when it is published.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Government departments buy (a) ceramic tableware and (b) other products from UK manufacturers (i) during and (ii) after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Further to the comments on the ceramics industry by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made in the House on 19 May 2020, the Government has taken unprecedented action to support businesses, including the ceramics sector, during the outbreak of COVID-19 by introducing a range of initiatives from the opportunity to defer VAT and/or income tax for 3 months to the Job Retention Scheme and access to government-backed financing.
Government departments and executive agencies spend a significant sum on public procurement, and we are aware of the vital role this will play in kick-starting the economy once the pandemic has passed. Contracting Authorities are already required to consider the social and environmental impacts of procurements and we intend to deliver a package of ambitious measures, including launching a new social value model, to support the recovery effort to ensure that Government’s huge purchasing power is used to support communities and the local economy. The model can form a key part of the government’s overall plan for recovery as it enables commercial teams to select policy outcomes to:
Tackle regional inequality with new jobs and skills, including retraining the unemployed in clean growth sectors, and helping disadvantaged communities recover.
Promote economic growth and prosperity by supporting SMEs and start-ups to lead or be part of government supply chains.
Support physical and mental health and ensure those in disadvantaged groups have equal opportunity to become part of a diverse, resilient workforce.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to encourage executive agencies to buy (a) ceramic tableware and (b) other products from UK manufacturers to support domestic industries during the covid-19 outbreak .
Answered by Chloe Smith
Further to the comments on the ceramics industry by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made in the House on 19 May 2020, the Government has taken unprecedented action to support businesses, including the ceramics sector, during the outbreak of COVID-19 by introducing a range of initiatives from the opportunity to defer VAT and/or income tax for 3 months to the Job Retention Scheme and access to government-backed financing.
Government departments and executive agencies spend a significant sum on public procurement, and we are aware of the vital role this will play in kick-starting the economy once the pandemic has passed. Contracting Authorities are already required to consider the social and environmental impacts of procurements and we intend to deliver a package of ambitious measures, including launching a new social value model, to support the recovery effort to ensure that Government’s huge purchasing power is used to support communities and the local economy. The model can form a key part of the government’s overall plan for recovery as it enables commercial teams to select policy outcomes to:
Tackle regional inequality with new jobs and skills, including retraining the unemployed in clean growth sectors, and helping disadvantaged communities recover.
Promote economic growth and prosperity by supporting SMEs and start-ups to lead or be part of government supply chains.
Support physical and mental health and ensure those in disadvantaged groups have equal opportunity to become part of a diverse, resilient workforce.