Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of global trade shows which her Department has encouraged businesses to attend in each of the last two years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Over the last two financial years (including 2023-24), the Department for Business and Trade has organised international activations for UK export-ready small and medium sized enterprises at over 90 international trade shows listed below.
2022-23 | |
Trade show | Country |
Cannes Lion | France |
Aero India | India |
Arab Health | UAE |
BETT Asia | Malaysia |
Bio Convention - San Diego | USA |
Chemspec Europe | Germany |
DSEI Japan | Japan |
ExpoNaval | Chile |
Fruit Attraction | Spain |
Gulfood (February 2023) | UAE |
IACP | USA |
IDEX | UAE |
Indo Defence | Indonesia |
Indo Pacific | Australia |
Innotrans | Germany |
International Atomic Energy Agency General Conf | Austria |
Intersec | UAE |
Investing in Africa Mining, Indaba | South Africa |
JP Morgan Healthcare conf | USA |
Kidscreen | USA |
Medica | Germany |
Middle East Beauty | France |
Mobile World Congress (MWC) | Spain |
Money 2020 | USA |
International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO | Poland |
Pitti Uomo | Italy |
Posidonia 2022 | Greece |
Sial | France |
Singapore Fintech Week | Singapore |
SMM Hamburg | Germany |
SOFIC | USA |
South By South West (SXSW) | USA |
Web Summit 2022 | Portugal |
2023-24 | |
Trade show | Country |
AAHAR | India |
Agritechnica | Germany |
Anuga | Germany |
Arab Health | UAE |
Asia Pacific Maritime | Singapore |
Australia Space Policy Forum | Australia |
Bengalaru Tech Summit | India |
BETT Asia | Malaysia |
Big 5 Construction | UAE |
BIO International | USA |
Cannes Lions | France |
Chemspec | Germany |
CPHI | Spain |
Defense & Security | Thailand |
DIMDEX | Qatar |
Dubai Airshow | UAE |
DUPHAT | UAE |
FoodEx | Japan |
GCC Beauty World ME | Dubai |
Global Health Expo | Saudi Arabia |
Global Space & Technology Convention | Singapore |
GULFOOD 2024 | UAE |
IACP | USA |
Indo Pacific | Australia |
InFlavour | Saudi Arabia |
Intersec | UAE |
Investing in Africa Mining Indaba | South Africa |
International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) | Poland |
International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) | Turkey |
Intersec | UAE |
Intersec KSA | Saudi Arabia |
JP Morgan Health Tech | USA |
Kidscreen 2024 | USA |
Kormarine | ROK |
Medica | Germany |
METSTRADE | Netherlands |
Middle East Rail | UAE |
Mobile World Congress | Spain |
Money 2020 | USA |
NorShipping | Norway |
Paris Air Show | France |
PCHI (Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients) | China |
Photonics West | USA |
Pitti Uomo | Italy |
Prowein | Germany |
ReBuild Ukraine | Poland |
Seafood Expo | USA |
Singapore Fintech Week | Singapore |
Singapore Maritime Week | Singapore |
SOF Week | USA |
Space Tech Expo | Germany |
SXSW | USA |
Web Summit | Portugal |
Wind Europe | Denmark |
Wind Europe 2024 | Spain |
World Defense Show | Saudi Arabia |
World New Energy Vehicle Congress | China |
World Nuclear Exhibition | Paris |
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
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 encourage the adoption of new photonic technology by manufacturing and agricultural businesses.
Answered by Jane Hunt
‘Electronics, Photonics and Quantum’ was one of seven technology families defined by the Government in the Innovation Strategy (HMG 2021), which highlighted UK strengths in high potential emerging technologies.
The UK is a global leader in photonics, which contributed £14.5 billion to the UK economy in 2020. Government is keen to see this contribution grow across many applications, including manufacturing and agriculture. Agriculture was specifically cited in the Innovation Strategy as a domain for the convergence of the technology families.
Photonics was also included within the National Security Investment Act (NSI) to ensure its growth and adoption is secure.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on supporting the semiconductor industry to export.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Department for International Trade have a range of existing support for UK semiconductor exporters, including the Export Support Service and new trade and investment hubs in the UK. DIT will also be supporting UK tech companies at international exhibitions in 2022, such as the Consumer Electronics Show, Mobile World Congress and Photonics West. Such programmes bring benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK, with the semiconductor sector widely dispersed across the UK, including the South Wales Compound Semiconductor and Applications Cluster.
Due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage and the importance of semiconductor technology to the wider digital ecosystem, DCMS are leading a review of our international and domestic approach to semiconductor supply chains. This will include an assessment of measures that could improve long term resilience within the semiconductor supply chain. We will be working closely with DIT as we do this, to establish where closer trade and investment links can add most value.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how he plans to use the Northern Powerhouse to increase productivity in County Durham.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
In his Manchester Speech of 27 July, the Prime Minister made clear this Government’s commitment to the Northern Powerhouse as part of its ambitions to level-up the country, unlocking untapped productivity and economic potential in all places, including County Durham.
This commitment builds on a track record of investment in economic growth in the North East. Of the £3.4 billion Government has invested in Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has received £379.6m across the three rounds of the Local Growth Fund. This investment in innovation, business support, skills, economic assets and infrastructure and transport and connectivity, will help people gain access to new jobs and opportunities and provide businesses with the environment needed to grow and become more productive. In County Durham, £17m of Local Growth Funding has been invested at the National Formulation Centre and National Photonics Centre. These leading innovation centres will boost productivity but also provide facilities and expertise to help companies of all sizes develop new technologies and turn them into commercially viable products that will grow the local economy.
The Northern Powerhouse’s emphasis on transport connectivity as a driver of productivity will also be of direct benefit to Durham, for example the £780 million upgrade to the East Coast Mainline.
Local economies are a crucial part of this: Bishop Auckland is also one of 50 places across the Country that has progressed to the second phase of the £675 million Future High Streets Fund, which will help local leaders to reinvent their town centres. Those successful towns will now receive up to £150,000 of new funding to work up detailed project proposals, based on their initial plans.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the size of the optoelectronics industry in the UK.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Official statistics are not published to a sufficient level of detail to identify the size of the optoelectronics sector in the UK.
The Government does however work closely with both the Photonics Leadership Council and the Elect-Tech Council. The Council’s “UK Photonics: The Hidden Economic Engine” identifies the UK’s significant strengths in Photonics, including optoelectronics.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to focus on expanding the economy through the (a) technology, (b) manufacturing or (c) exports sectors; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Chancellor has been clear that raising productivity is the only way to expand the economy in the long term. Doing so will mean encouraging growth in the manufacturing sector, boosting the adoption of technology and enabling more British firms to export. That’s why we increased the National Productivity Investment Fund to £37bn at Budget 2018, and have announced a wide range of productivity enhancing measures at previous fiscal events. Most recently this has included £81 million for a new extreme photonics centre in Oxfordshire, £45 million for the European Bioinformatics Institute, and £79 million for a new supercomputer to be hosted at Edinburgh University.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding the Government has allocated to research into (a) photonics and (b) optoelectronics in each (a) nation and (b) region of the UK in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funds high quality research and innovation for BEIS as part of the Government’s wider ambition to increase the UK’s total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. All proposals are assessed through peer review and funding is not usually ringfenced for particular research areas or topics.
Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) is the primary funder of these areas within UKRI. The table below summarises the value of all current grants from EPSRC, in research and training for the relevant research portfolios: Photonic Materials, Optoelectronic Devices and a combined figure for Optical Communications and Optical Devices and Subsystems.
Please note other research is being carried out in this area, both in other UKRI councils and outside of UKRI, but we are unable to determine the monetary value of this in the time allowed.
| Photonic Materials | Optoelectronic Devices and Circuits | Research into other Photonic Technology (Communications and Optical Devices) | |||
Year | Research | Training | Research | Training | Research | Training |
2018 | £ 65.78M | £ 19.43M | £ 51.92M | £ 5.76M | £48.21M | £12.71M |
2017 | £ 65.46M | £ 21.40M | £ 54.87M | £ 6.56M | £51.87M | £11.57M |
2016 | £ 60.29M | £ 18.74M | £ 48.24M | £ 6.63M | £48.97M | £10.67M |
My rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Spring Statement an £81 million investment in a national Extreme Photonics Application Centre in Oxfordshire. In addition, EPSRC has confirmed continued funding for two existing Centres for Doctoral Training in ICT Photonics as well as investment in a new CDT which will contribute to this area
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support apple growers as part of any post-Common Agricultural Policy arrangements after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
Leaving the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will give us the opportunity to design a new system of agricultural support. Over the next few months the Secretary of State will continue to visit the British countryside and working farms to hear industry and the public’s views first hand to continue to inform post-CAP arrangements. This Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support for the duration of this Parliament, providing certainty to farmers.
The Government currently supports horticulture though the LEADER scheme within the Rural Development Programme for England. It expects shortly to open an additional new funding offer for farmers and horticulturalists to invest in a range of innovative equipment to help improve their productivity. This funding will be open to apple growers and could support production for both the domestic and export markets. Also, Defra funds the National Fruit Collection which includes about 3,000 apple varieties. Material from the collection is available to propagators and growers, providing an opportunity to produce heritage varieties for specialist markets and a genetic resource for breeding new varieties. The government also offers financial support to EMR, which runs a breeding programme.
The Government recognises that in order to stimulate innovative practices and increase productivity of sectors like top fruit, a strong research base is needed. Research can develop new innovative practices such as the 2013 agri-tech project looking into extending the availability and flavour-life of UK apples using innovative photonics. As part of the agri-tech strategy, £160 million has been committed to be co-invested with industry to address challenges in the agri-tech sector.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
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 Government's policy paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation: Future Partnership Paper, published on 6 September 2017, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland on the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the future of the Centre for Applied Photonics at the University of Strathclyde.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Scottish Office met recently with the Principal at the Centre of Photonics for Applied Photonics at the University of Strathclyde.
The Centre for Applied Photonics is one of around 20 Fraunhofer Research Centres based around the world, including countries outside the EU, such as the Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems and the Faunhofer Center for Solar Energy Technologies in Chile. Fraunhofer Centres act in the same way as the Fraunhofer Institutes do in Germany, and form an integral part of a country’s innovation system while maintaining the core Fraunhofer principles and business model. Location in an EU member state is not a requirement for a Fraunhofer Centre.
Science and research are vital to our country’s prosperity, security and wellbeing, and are at the heart of our industrial strategy. As part of our commitment to the science base, we have already increased research and development investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21. This equates to an extra £2 billion per year by 2020-21 and is an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending. Furthermore, the Government has guaranteed to underwrite the payments of any successful bids for competitive EU funding, such as funding from Horizon 2020, submitted by UK businesses and universities while we remain a member of the EU.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
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 Government's policy paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation: A Future Partnership Paper, published on 6 September 2017, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the future of the Centre for Applied Photonics at the University of Strathclyde.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
We have been clear from the start that the Scottish Government should be fully engaged in our exit from the EU. The UK Government’s paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation: A Future Partnership Paper, provides a basis for further discussion, including with the Scottish Government, on the future partnership the UK wants to build with the EU. We are committed to positive and productive engagement with the Scottish Government, including at the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations, as we seek a deal that works for the entire United Kingdom.
The Centre for Applied Photonics at the University of Strathclyde is one of around 20 Fraunhofer Research Centres based around the world, including countries outside the EU, such as the Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems and the Fraunhofer Center for Solar Energy Technologies in Chile. Fraunhofer Centres act in the same way as the Fraunhofer Institutes do in Germany, and form an integral part of a country’s innovation system while maintaining the core Fraunhofer principles and business model. Location in an EU member state is not a requirement for a Fraunhofer Centre.
Science and research are vital to our country’s prosperity, security and wellbeing, and are at the heart of our industrial strategy. As part of our commitment to the science base, we have already increased research and development investment by £4.7 billion over the period 2017-18 to 2020-21. This equates to an extra £2 billion per year by 2020-21 and is an increase of around 20% to total government R&D spending. Furthermore, the Government has guaranteed to underwrite the payments of any successful bids for competitive EU funding, such as funding from Horizon 2020, submitted by UK businesses and universities while we remain a member of the EU.