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1308724

	registered interest
	date	13/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Parents: Bereavement Leave
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to extend parental bereavement leave to include pregnancy losses before 24 weeks.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	180625
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>We recognise that a miscarriage can be deeply upsetting. We encourage employers to provide appropriate support to women who have suffered a miscarriage and respond sensitively to each individuals specific needs.</p><p> </p><p>The current entitlement to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay applies to employed parents of children under the age of 18 and those who suffer a stillbirth.</p><p> </p><p>Because the death of a child is particularly tragic, in April 2020, we legislated to give parents who lose a child under the age of 18, including cases where a baby is stillborn after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy, a right to take up to 2 weeks off work in the 56 weeks following the death of their child. The policy is mapped against the clinical definition of a ‘stillbirth’: 24 weeks is a legally and medically important point in a pregnancy as it is the clinical age of viability.</p><p> </p><p>Individuals who do not feel able to return to work following a miscarriage may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay while off work. All employees are also entitled to 5.6 weeks of Annual Leave a year and many employers also offer ‘Compassionate Leave’.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/04/2021 16:44:39 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309079

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Environment Protection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure consumers and businesses have access to redress and other consumer protections in emerging low-carbon markets.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	180964
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>As a Competent Authority, the energy regulator Ofgem, has an obligation to ensure Alternative Dispute Resolution is provided in the energy sector under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Ofgem has appointed Ombudsman Services: Energy as the redress provider in the energy sector and has set out the types of dispute that Ombudsman Services: Energy can resolve, including issues relating to billing, sales, switching, supply, micro-generation and Feed in Tariffs.</p><p> </p><p>Consumer protection continues to be a central part of policy considerations in relation to new energy markets, for example we have recently consulted on extending access to redress to heat network customers.</p> answering member constituency Berwick-upon-Tweed answering member printed Anne-Marie Trevelyan question first answered 19/04/2021 15:40:46 answering member 4531 label Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

1309081

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Carbon Emissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help vulnerable consumers make the transition to net zero.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	180965
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government has extended the Energy Company Obligation to 2026 and expanded the Warm Home Discount to £475 million per year from 2022 to 2025/2026. This will see targeted support continue to be provided to low-income and vulnerable households to install energy saving measures and heat their homes over the winter months, while making savings on their energy bills through having better insulated homes. The future Home Upgrade Grant scheme, due to commence in 2022, will support low-income households with upgrades to the worst-performing homes off the gas grid in England. These upgrades will create warmer homes at lower cost and support low-income families with the switch to low-carbon heating. This increased energy efficiency is complemented by the Government’s rollout of over 26 million smart meters, which help consumers see how much energy they are using in near real-time and make sure they are ready to take advantage of the next wave of flexible, low-carbon technologies and energy tariffs.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to getting the transition to net zero right for all consumers, including those in vulnerable circumstances, and will shortly publish a call for evidence to begin an ongoing strategic dialogue between consumers, industry and the Government on affordability in the energy system.</p> answering member constituency Berwick-upon-Tweed answering member printed Anne-Marie Trevelyan question first answered 19/04/2021 15:39:29 answering member 4531 label Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

1305462

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Additional Restrictions Grant and Local Restrictions Support Grant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Government's timeframe is for local authorities to issue final payments for the Local Restrictions Grant and the Additional Restriction Grant; and if he will consider extending the final payment date for those schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	174881
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government continues to provide financial support via Local Authorities for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives.</p><p> </p><p>At the Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer further extended the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme, providing top-up funding for Local Authorities to distribute to businesses. Final payments of the ARG must be made by 31 March 2022.</p><p> </p><p>Local Authorities were expected to pay eligible businesses the full allocation of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Closed) as soon as possible after receipt of the funding. They must issue payments for the second round of the 2021 LRSG (Closed) by 30 June 2021. The first round of LRSG (Closed) payments, from 5 January, must be paid out by 30 April 2021.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no plans to extend these deadlines.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/04/2021 16:27:41 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1306392

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Cities and Local Growth Unit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many full-time equivalent staff from his Department were employed in the Cities and Local Growth Unit in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Steve Reed
	uin	175860
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Cities and Local Growth Unit is the Government’s local growth team, working across two Departments and reporting jointly into the MHCLG and BEIS Secretaries of State. In each of the last five years, BEIS FTE employed in the Cities and Local Growth Unit (CLGU) is detailed in following chart.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="5"><p><strong>BEIS FTE employed in the CLGU from 2017 to *2021</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>2017</em></p></td><td><p><em>2018</em></p></td><td><p><em>2019</em></p></td><td><p><em>2020</em></p></td><td><p><em>2021</em></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>91.1</p></td><td><p>102.4</p></td><td><p>125.8</p></td><td><p>133.1</p></td><td><p>153.4</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p><em>*153.4 reflects data up to 28<sup>th</sup> February 2021</em></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/04/2021 16:43:10 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1308626

	registered interest
	date	13/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	National Security and Investment Bill
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s decision to amend the National Security and Investment Bill on the Government's ability to protect the UK's (a) economy and (b) critical national infrastructure from hostile actors.
	tabling member constituency	Aberavon
	tabling member printed	Stephen Kinnock
	uin	180513
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>On the basis of the available data, which is limited to evidence from: Capital IQ on mergers and acquisitions with a value of £1 million and above; Pitchbook on transactions with a value below £1 million, and; Orbis on the number of indirect mergers and acquisitions, the proposed amendment, which would remove the 15% mandatory notification threshold from the National Security and Investment Bill is assessed as de minimis. Nonetheless, we do expect this to reduce the number of acquisitions subject to mandatory notification.</p><p> </p><p>Irrespective of this change, the Bill continues to include the power for the Secretary of State to call in acquisitions at or below 25% of shares or votes in qualifying entities across the economy where they reasonably suspect that it has resulted in, or may result in, the acquisition of material influence over the policy of the entity and they reasonably suspect that this that this has given, or may give rise to, a risk to national security.</p><p> </p><p>Therefore, we do not expect there to be any impact on the Government's ability to protect the UK's economy and critical national infrastructure from hostile actors.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/04/2021 16:52:19 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock

1309028

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Additional Restrictions Grant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether local authorities are permitted to award Additional Restrictions Grant funding to companies that began trading after 5 January 2021.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	181064
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>Yes, Local Authorities are permitted to do this.</p><p> </p><p>All businesses that are trading and meet other eligibility criteria may apply to receive funding under this scheme. There is no starting date from which businesses must have been trading in order to qualify for Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/04/2021 16:50:38 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1305678

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	UK Research and Innovation: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when UK Research and Innovation plans to publish its updated thematic areas for its Strategic Priorities Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool North and Cleveleys
	tabling member printed	Paul Maynard
	uin	174803
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) provides a mechanism for research and innovation communities to identify and propose priorities for funding. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) ensures that proposals align with the aims of the SPF, including by consulting with departments on Areas of Research Interest. All research themes and currently funded programmes are published on the UKRI website.</p><p> </p><p>There are no current plans to update the research themes.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 19/04/2021 14:37:02 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard

1305681

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Space Debris
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what investment the UK Space Agency plans to make to mitigate the effect of atmospheric events and space weather on space debris.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool North and Cleveleys
	tabling member printed	Paul Maynard
	uin	174804
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Department will publish a new space weather strategy later this year, which will set out a five-year road map for how we intend to boost resilience and build on existing UK strengths and capacity in preparing for and mitigating space weather impacts.</p><p><br>This Government understands that good management of risk is essential for contingency planning, increasing the likelihood that the services we rely on day-to-day remain available for citizens.</p><p><br>In November 2019, the UK Government committed £80m to the European Space Agency Space Safety programme, of which £10m was targeted towards Space weather and debris mitigation development activities, including improving the modelling of how routine and extreme variations in space weather affect space debris.</p><p><br>In addition, this year the UK Space Agency invested a further £1m into projects related to space debris detection and tracking.</p><p><br>Future investment in this area within our National and European Space Agency programmes is subject to the spending review settlement.</p><p><br>The UK is a world leader in space weather forecasting and the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre provides forecasts and warnings of space weather on a 24/7 basis. The UK Space Agency works with the Met Office to ensure the continuity of space weather observational data.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 19/04/2021 14:34:25 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard

1305733

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Universities: Research
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a reduction in Official Development Assistance funding to the UKRI on (a) UK universities and (b) their partner universities overseas where (i) funding for research has already been confirmed and (b) research using that funding is already underway.
	tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
	tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
	uin	174848
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.</p><p> </p><p>On 2<sup>nd</sup> December last year, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to the Chair of the International Development Committee setting out the Strategic Framework for UK ODA, which details the UK’s foreign aid spending priorities. Specifically, these priorities include climate change and biodiversity, and tackling covid and global health issues, as you have outlined. This is in addition to tackling poverty, as all UK ODA does. In line with these priorities, he confirmed each Department’s total ODA settlement on 26<sup>th</sup> January.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&amp;D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22; and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&amp;D sector.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations. UKRI have written to many award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding next year, and to explore options for individual programmes. Full details have been published on the UKRI website.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway grouped question UIN 174851 174852 question first answered 19/04/2021 14:28:15 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle