Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1138419

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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	Vegetable Oils
	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 support businesses to develop new and more sustainable vegetation oils as a replacement for palm oil.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	276167
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to working with business and others to create a UK market for sustainably sourced palm oil for households and reduce the environmental impact of palm oil production overseas.</p><p> </p><p>In 2012, the Government convened an industry-led UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. This brought together trade associations for palm oil-using sectors to improve reporting, traceability and understanding of supply chains to increase the use of certified palm oil. As a result the market share of sustainable palm oil in the UK has increased from 16% in 2010 to 75% in 2017.</p><p> </p><p>Internationally, as a member of the Amsterdam Declarations Partnership, the UK is driving 100% sustainable palm oil supply chains in Europe. The UK also supports the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) which recently secured the Marrakesh Declaration on palm oil. The Declaration has seen seven African palm oil producing countries and major companies agree principles for responsible palm oil.</p><p> </p><p>This builds on earlier Government efforts to tackle non-household use of vegetable oils such as palm oil in sectors such as biofuels, by promoting waste-derived biofuels. Two thirds of biofuels in 2017-2018 were from such wastes.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that more remains to be done and will continue to explore opportunities to improve the sustainability of palm oil production.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 16/07/2019 14:42:53 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1138451

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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	Renewable Energy
	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 contribution that (a) rooftop solar, (b) solar farms and (c) onshore wind can make to delivering the 2050 net-zero emissions target; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	276250
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>Solar PV is a UK success story. Over 99% of the UK’s solar PV capacity has been deployed since May 2010, and now provides 13.5GW of renewable electricity. 13.8GW of onshore wind capacity has now also been installed in the UK, enough to power over 7.6 million UK homes. Renewable technologies have an essential part to play in meeting the 2050 net zero emissions commitment as part of a diverse energy system.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 16/07/2019 14:43:02 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1138474

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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: Freedom of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons 31.2 per cent of freedom of information requests received by his Department were not fulfilled within the 20-day deadline in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	276159
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) the 20 working day deadline for response to requests for information may be extended in order to consider the balance of public interest regarding disclosure of held information.</p><p>In 2018, 82% of requests received by the Department were answered within the statutory 20-day deadline or with a permitted extension. In the first quarter of 2019, 68% of requests were answered within the 20-day deadline or with a permitted extension.</p><p>The complexity and diverse nature of the Department means that individual requests may require the involvement of more than one area of the Department and/or consultation with key stakeholders. Regrettably this can sometimes lead to delays in the Department’s ability to providing a timely response.</p><p>The Department remains committed to improving the number of requests answered within the statutory deadline and is working closely with officials across the Department.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson grouped question UIN 276160 question first answered 16/07/2019 14:42:41 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1138475

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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: Freedom of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason only 55.4 per cent of FOI requests received by his Department in the first quarter of 2019 were met within the 20-day deadline.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	276160
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) the 20 working day deadline for response to requests for information may be extended in order to consider the balance of public interest regarding disclosure of held information.</p><p>In 2018, 82% of requests received by the Department were answered within the statutory 20-day deadline or with a permitted extension. In the first quarter of 2019, 68% of requests were answered within the 20-day deadline or with a permitted extension.</p><p>The complexity and diverse nature of the Department means that individual requests may require the involvement of more than one area of the Department and/or consultation with key stakeholders. Regrettably this can sometimes lead to delays in the Department’s ability to providing a timely response.</p><p>The Department remains committed to improving the number of requests answered within the statutory deadline and is working closely with officials across the Department.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson grouped question UIN 276159 question first answered 16/07/2019 14:42:41 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1138047

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	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	Research: 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, what account he has taken of his Department's report entitled What is the relationship between public and private investment in R&D published July 2015 which stated that an extra £1 of public funding would give rise to an increase in private funding of between £1.13 and £1.60 in setting policy on the relationship between public and private investment in R&D.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	275748
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 9 July 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-07-04/273388/" target="_blank">273388</a>.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 13:30:26 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1138185

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	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	Optoelectronics
	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 much funding has been allocated to the optoelectronics industry in the UK in each year for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	275690
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Our ambition is to increase total R&amp;D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, and 3% in the long term. Successive UK Governments have supported the principle that funding for basic research should be awarded through competitive processes on the basis of excellence and likely impact - as assessed through peer review.</p><p>UK Research and Innovation, a partner organisation of BEIS, primarily engages with industry through Innovate UK. The table below shows the amount committed by Innovate UK to projects involving optoelectronics in each of the last 5 years. These figures focus on funds to industry and, as such, exclude funding towards research-focused partners such as academics or charities.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Commitment Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Grant Offered (Commitment)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£3,530,324</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£1,944,112</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£3,676,222</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£5,225,330</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£822,952</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Note: as this is committed funding the 2018/19 figures do not include where an offer letter has been sent but no agreement has yet been reached. As such this will not reflect the full amount of funding committed in that year.</em></p><p> </p><p>Funding for research into optoelectronics is also provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 15:47:28 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1138186

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	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	Optoelectronics
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the size of the optoelectronics industry in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	275691
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Official statistics are not published to a sufficient level of detail to identify the size of the optoelectronics sector in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 14:45:26 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1137836

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	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: EU Countries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which EU Member States have adopted targets for zero net emissions by (a) 2050, (b) 2040, (c) another date and (d) a date not yet specified.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	275103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK was the first major economy to legislate for a net zero target. The action we are taking in setting this target will continue our proud tradition of climate leadership.</p><p>The EU Member States that have targets for net zero greenhouse gas emissions in legislation are Sweden (by 2045) and the United Kingdom (by 2050). France is currently in the process of legislating for a 2050 net zero greenhouse target.</p><p>In addition, a range of Member States have adopted or are currently publicly considering adopting plans for net zero carbon or greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and in some cases have stated their intention is to legislate for a target. These include Denmark, Germany, and Portugal and Finland. Other Member States with plans to significantly reduce emissions by 2050 include the Netherlands, which has a law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95%, and Spain, which has a draft law proposing an at least 90% reduction (in both cases the reduction is compared to 1990).</p><p>The EU is also considering adopting a bloc-wide net zero 2050 target, with a large majority of Member States, including the UK, supporting a net zero EU target by 2050 at the June European Council this year. Through ratifying the Paris Agreement, the EU and its Member States have already committed to aiming for a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of the century, as set out in Article 4.1 of the Agreement.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 16:40:51 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1137844

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	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	Artificial Intelligence: Skilled Workers
	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 his Department plans to support industry-led initiatives to close the artificial intelligence skills gap.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	275134
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s vision to make the UK a global centre for AI and data innovation, which includes developing the skills that will contribute to building the best environment for AI development and deployment. We have created the Office for AI (a joint unit between the departments: Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and Digital Culture Media and Sport) to oversee that vision.</p><p>The AI Sector Deal brings together commitments from Government, Industry and Academia in a near £0.95bn package of support to promote the adoption and use of AI.</p><p>To date, some of the key Government investment in AI skills and talent has included:</p><ul><li>£100m for 16 New Centres for Doctoral Training at universities across the country, delivering 1,000 new PhDs over the next 5 years;</li><li>£50m of funding agreed at Autumn Budget for new prestigious AI fellowships to attract and retain the top AI talent; and</li><li>£13.5m government funding to build new conversion courses to expand pathways into AI and Data specialisms as well as scholarships to improve diversity</li></ul><p>Further, through the Government’s Office for AI, we are working with Industry and Academia to develop a new industry-funded AI Masters programme, in collaboration with the British Computer Society and the Institute of Coding. Partnerships between industry stakeholders and universities are being established that will produce the postgraduates industry partners need.</p><p>The Office for AI is in regular discussion with industry and continues to welcome other initiatives aimed at increasing artificial intelligence skills in the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 15:43:28 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1137849

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	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	Hospitality Industry: Sexual Harassment
	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 recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of the use of non-disclosure agreements for incidences of sexual harassment in the fast food hospitality sector.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	275108
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Any form of sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace is clearly unacceptable. The Government does not accept any behaviour that causes people to feel intimidated or humiliated in the workplace.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has consulted on proposals to prevent the misuse of confidentiality clauses in cases of sexual harassment and discrimination. It will be publishing a response with its final proposals, in due course.</p><p> </p><p>We have launched a consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace led by the Government Equalities Office. This consultation welcomes suggestions of alternative interventions to prevent and better monitor cases of sexual harassment and discrimination.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 15/07/2019 13:30:15 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham