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1019991

registered interest
date	04/12/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Brexit: Legal Opinion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department will publish the full legal advice on the EU Withdrawal Agreement before the House votes on the Motion to approve that Agreement on 11 December 2018.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	198781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>A copy of the final advice that the Attorney General provided to Cabinet on 14 November on the legal effect of the Withdrawal Agreement was published on 5 December. Copies have been placed in both libraries of the House and can be found online <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exiting-the-eu-publication-of-legal-advice" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/12/2018 12:58:50 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1151346

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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	Electricity: Prices
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 her Department is taking to reduce the cost of electricity to consumers.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	3625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>Energy policy is largely devolved to Northern Ireland, including energy price regulation. Across the island of Ireland the Single Electricity Market (SEM) is designed to put downward pressure on consumer electricity prices, facilitate the integration of renewables and provide continued security of supply.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring fair energy prices for consumers and has a range of policies in Great Britain. The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act requires the energy regulator to cap standard variable and default energy tariffs. Ofgem estimate this could save consumers around £75-100 per year.</p><p> </p><p>There are around 60 domestic suppliers in the GB energy market with a range of innovative tariffs for consumers to choose from. Switching in early 2019 hit historic highs, with the total number of domestic switches in the 12 months up to July 2019 was 10% higher than over the same period last year. In August 2019, customers could save up to £408 a year by switching.</p><p> </p><p>Over 2 million low income and vulnerable households receive £140 off their electricity bills each winter through the Warm Home Discount.</p><p> </p><p>Improving the energy efficiency of a home is the best way of reducing energy bills for the long-term. Since 2013, over 2 million homes, including those with electric heating, have had their energy efficiency improved under the Energy Company Obligation.</p> answering member constituency Spelthorne answering member printed Kwasi Kwarteng question first answered 28/10/2019 13:22:20 answering member 4134 label Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1125416

registered interest
date	08/05/2019
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	Parental 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 support shared parental leave.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	251985
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>In 2018 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Government Equalities Office funded a £1.5m campaign to raise awareness of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme amongst parents. This was followed by further communications activity, aimed at employers, in 2019. Both campaigns were underpinned by improved tools and guidance for parents which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/shared-parental-leave-and-pay-guidance-and-tools-for-parents.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 13/05/2019 13:27:20 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1037102

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Energy: Billing
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 is his Department taking to help people that are not computer literate to (a) compare and (b) switch energy company tariffs.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	205874
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government created the Big Energy Saving Network, to provide face to face support for vulnerable consumers to switch and save, led by Citizens Advice and delivered by third sector organisations and community groups. In addition many Ofgem accredited price comparison sites offer a free telephone service.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working closely with Ofgem to deliver midata in energy, which will streamline tariff comparisons by allowing switching companies to access key energy data, with customers’ consent, and include a telephone access route for those consumers who are less confident using computers.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 14/01/2019 15:54:07 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1037107

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Energy: 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, whether his Department has allocated funding for new research on clean energy.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	205877
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government has committed to spending over £2.5bn on research into low carbon innovation, including clean energy, between 2015 and 2021. This includes £505m of spending on BEIS’s Energy Innovation Programme, which aims to accelerate the commercial deployment of clean energy technologies and processes into the coming decades, and up to £1.2 billion of funding from UK Research and Innovation, including funding for the Energy Systems Catapult and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. Recent announcements of funding have included £102m for the Prospering from the Energy Revolution challenge, to develop future smart energy systems and prove their use at scale, and up to £170m for decarbonising Industrial Clusters.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Further information</p><p>Prospering from the Energy Revolution: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prospering-from-the-energy-revolution-full-programme-details" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prospering-from-the-energy-revolution-full-programme-details</a></p><p>Decarbonising Industrial Clusters: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-first-carbon-net-zero-hub-of-heavy-industry-to-help-uk-seize-global-economic-opportunities-of-clean-growth" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-first-carbon-net-zero-hub-of-heavy-industry-to-help-uk-seize-global-economic-opportunities-of-clean-growth</a></p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 15/01/2019 14:58:35 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1037104

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Energy: Conservation
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 consumers reduce their energy usage.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	205875
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to help all consumers – both households and businesses – to reduce their energy usage, taking control of their bills and helping us meet our clean growth ambitions.</p><p> </p><p>In our Clean Growth Strategy, we set out our aspiration to upgrade as many homes as possible to an Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2035, where practical, cost effective and affordable. We have taken a number of steps to deliver this aim: this year, we launched the digitally-led Simple Energy Advice service to provide impartial, tailored advice on how homeowners can cut energy bills and make their homes greener, and also launched a new quality mark, through Trustmark, to help give consumers confidence in the quality of the measures being installed in their homes. And, in April 2018, we introduced new legislation requiring landlords of both residential and commercial buildings to improve their properties to Energy Performance Certificate Band E or higher. We will also shortly publish an action plan on building the market for energy efficiency, outlining a range of market-based measures in line with this aspiration.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside this, the Energy Company Obligation obligates the larger energy suppliers to install energy efficiency and heating measures to people’s homes to help reduce their energy use. Since January 2013, the scheme has delivered over 2.4 million improvements in around 1.9m homes. It is funded at £640m per year and this level of support will continue to 2028, meaning the Government will drive more than £6 billion of investment in domestic energy efficiency over the next ten years.</p><p> </p><p>The Clean Growth Strategy also set out our ambition to enable business consumers to reduce their energy usage by improving energy efficiency by at least 20% by 2030. We have introduced a more streamlined energy and carbon reporting framework to help businesses reduce their carbon emissions and associated energy costs. We have also launched a new £18 million Industrial Heat Recovery Support Programme supporting the recovery and re-use of industrial waste heat, and committed £8.8 million to promote innovative approaches to energy management using smart meters. We also announced at Budget 2018 up to £315m for an Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to support businesses with high energy use to invest in energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures, and that we would bring forward proposals on a new energy efficiency scheme for small and medium sized enterprises.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 15/01/2019 14:58:24 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1037106

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
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	Small Businesses: Government Assistance
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 small businesses to grow.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	205876
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are making the UK one of the best places in the world for businesses to start up and grow.</p><p> </p><p>The Government-owned British Business Bank is supporting nearly 78,000 small businesses with over £5.5 billion of finance; and we’ve extended funding for the Start Up Loans Company until 2021, supporting 10,000 more entrepreneurs.</p><p> </p><p>We’re also providing £56m of funding to boost business productivity, including £11m to create a Small Business Leadership Programme.</p><p> </p><p>Business across England can also access tailored advice and support through one of the 38 Local Growth Hubs, one in each Local Enterprise Partnership Area. These bring together public and private sector partners to deliver business support, making it easy for business to access the help and advice they need.</p><p> </p><p>We have launched the £9 million Business Basics Programme, as announced in the Industrial Strategy, to test innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to take up the good practices that can help them to become more productive.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), drives productivity and growth by supporting businesses to realise the potential of new technologies, develop ideas and make them a commercial success.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 14/01/2019 17:44:34 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1151356

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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	Business: Digital Technology
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 her Department is taking to help businesses expand through the use of digital platforms.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	3631
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>We want the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business. Government is taking action to support businesses to take advantages of the opportunities to expand through digital platforms in several ways:</p><p>As businesses and consumers increasingly use digital platforms, it is important that competition works well in these markets. That is why the Government commissioned Professor Jason Furman to identify how to unlock competition in digital markets. The Government is considering his proposals and will respond in due course.</p><p>Government’s Exporting is GREAT campaign supports UK businesses with free expert e-commerce export support. DIT’s E-Exporting Programme’s Selling Online Overseas Tool, that sits on great.gov.uk, is a free to use online service that helps UK companies identify and sell on global marketplaces.</p><p>We are acting to support SMEs to adopt basic digital technology, including using e-commerce software. For example, we recently announced the third wave of funding through our Business Basics Programme to test innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to adopt basic technologies. This round of funding will include up to £1m focusing the adoption of payment technology, including ecommerce technologies.</p><p>The Digital Skills Partnership (DSP), announced in the UK Digital Strategy 2017, aims to improve digital skills across the skills spectrum and the Digital Enterprise Delivery Group, led by Lloyds Banking Group, is working to increase the digital capabilities of SMEs. The group is now working with partners on a programme aimed at increasing efficiency and productivity through greater tech adoption among SMEs.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 30/10/2019 16:58:14 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1050192

registered interest
date	28/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Army: Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many female officers are there in the British Army.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	213309
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2019 answer text <p>As at 1 October 2018 there were 1,560 female officers in the British Army. A detailed breakdown of the Armed Forces by gender can be found in Table 1 of the UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics at the following link:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2018</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 04/02/2019 16:34:29 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1126813

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Armed Forces: Weapons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps she is taking to help ensure that weapons used by British armed forces are (a) fit for purpose and (b) modern.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	254790
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>As explained in the report on the Modernising Defence Programme published in December 2018, we plan to modernise and transform our Armed Forces by embracing new and innovative technologies to ensure we retain military advantage over potential adversaries and by investing to improve the readiness and availability of defence equipment. We will spend over £186 billion on equipment and support over the decade from April 2018 to March 2028 to ensure that our Armed Forces are fit for the defence and security challenges of the future.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 21/05/2019 15:01:17 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson