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1130976

registered interest
date	07/06/2019
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	VJ Day: Anniversaries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating an additional bank holiday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VJ Day.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	262251
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government regularly receives requests for additional bank and public holidays to commemorate a variety of occasions, for example, cultural, historical and military events. However, there are no current plans to create another bank holiday. The cost to the economy of additional bank holiday remains considerable. The estimated cost to the economy for a one-off bank holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was £1.2bn.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of VJ Day, and celebrations will take place to celebrate the 75<sup>th</sup> Anniversary which falls on Saturday 15 August 2020.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 13/06/2019 13:04:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1127621

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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	Iron and Steel
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 estimate he has made of the number of tonnes of coal required to produce steel at current levels in the next five years.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	256236
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/05/2019 answer text <p>Finished steel products are produced in the UK through a mixture of the blast furnace route, which requires coal and iron ore, and through the electric arc furnace route, which does not require coal. We have not estimated the tonnes of coal required for current production of UK finished steel products.</p><p>The Government has long supported the UK steel industry to exploit opportunities and plan for future demand with wide-ranging action.</p><p>For the first time this year we have published information from departments and their arm’s-length bodies on how much steel they have procured over the last financial year and how they have applied the steel procurement guidance.</p><p>The Government has also published details of upcoming steel requirements for national infrastructure projects. The data shows how the Government plans to use over three million tonnes of steel until 2021 on infrastructure projects such as the construction of Hinkley Point, and the maintenance and upgrading of the UK’s motorway network.</p><p>We recently as a Department signed up to the UK Steel Charter. We want to acknowledge and support this initiative from industry. We have been encouraging the UK steel sector to strengthen their engagement with all existing and potential domestic steel consumers, maximising opportunities to benefit from the £3.8 billion a year by 2030 high market value opportunities we have identified.</p><p>The Government has provided more than £291m in compensation to the steel sector since 2013 to make energy costs more competitive, including over £53 million during 2018. And last year we announced the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, worth up to £315 million, to support businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future and to cut their bills through increased energy efficiency.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 29/05/2019 13:14:00 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1124524

registered interest
date	02/05/2019
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	Individual Voluntary Arrangements
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will establish an inquiry into the use of Individual Voluntary Agreements as a means of exploiting low-income and vulnerable consumers.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	250435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>Individual voluntary arrangements, used appropriately, are a very useful tool for helping people to deal with problem debt and there are no current plans to review their use. However, Government has recently consulted on the implementation of a “breathing space” scheme, which aims to give people legal protection from creditor action while they seek debt advice from an independent, approved debt adviser about their options. This will help to ensure that an individual in problem debt can enter a debt solution most appropriate for their circumstances. The Government’s response to this consultation will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 09/05/2019 07:49:28 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1111116

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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	Whirlpool Corporation: Tumble Dryers
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 the adequacy of (a) Whirlpool’s and (b) the Office for Product Safety and Standards' response to problems with Whirlpool tumble dryer safety.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	243352
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s priority is to keep consumers safe.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) review considered the adequacy of Whirlpool’s response on tumble dryer safety. As a result, OPSS has issued a Decision Letter to Whirlpool setting out further actions for the company to take in relation to risk management and communications with customers. OPSS will hold Whirlpool to account in regard to these requirements as part of the company’s obligations with regard to the safety of products.</p><p> </p><p>The OPSS review was conducted by scientific, legal and product safety experts including input from the Government’s Health and Safety Laboratory and it was peer reviewed by the BEIS Chief Scientific Advisor.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 23/04/2019 16:30:45 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1109038

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
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	Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries
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 prospects for a sector deal for the steel industry.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	239885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government remains open to discussing a Sector Deal with the steel industry, and has been meeting regularly with companies in this sector to continue this conversation. To support the sector develop a long-term strategy, BEIS commissioned independent research which identified future domestic market opportunities for the UK steel sector worth an additional £3.8 billion per year. We are actively encouraging this sector to come forward with plans to exploit these opportunities, and remain committed to work with the sector, trade unions, and devolved administrations to help deliver these plans.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to minimising energy costs for businesses – including the steel industry – to ensure that the UK economy remains strong and competitive. We recognise that the UK’s industrial electricity costs are currently higher than those of our competitors, and so we have taken steps to reduce the cumulative impact of energy and climate change policies on the price of industrial electricity for key industries, such as steel. This includes providing the steel sector with over £285m of compensation since 2013 for the indirect costs due to the EU Emission Trading System, carbon price support mechanism, Renewable Obligation, and small-scale Feed-in Tariff.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also announced an Industrial Energy Transformation Fund – on which we are currently consulting – backed by up to £315m of investment, to help businesses with high energy use cut their bills through increased energy efficiency, and transition UK industry to a low carbon future.</p><p> </p><p>The steel sector is actively engaged with UK Research and Innovation in shaping the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: we are providing up to £66m for the ‘Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge’, subject to industry co-funding. In addition, up to a further £170 million has been provided to develop a ‘net-zero carbon’ industrial cluster, that will help heavy industries – including steel – to share expertise, and innovate low-carbon solutions as we move to a greener, cleaner economy.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 09/04/2019 16:01:42 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1109039

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
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	Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will that steps to (a) remove the electricity price disparity for the steel industry, (b) establish a Future Steel Challenge Fund, (c) strengthen the steel procurement guidelines and their reporting mechanisms, and (d) remove plant and machinery from business rates valuations.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	239886
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to minimising energy costs for businesses to ensure that the UK economy remains strong and competitive. We recognise that the UK’s industrial electricity costs are currently higher than those of our competitors, and so we have taken steps to reduce the cumulative impact of energy and climate change policies on the price of industrial electricity for key industries, such as steel. This includes providing the steel sector with over £285m of compensation since 2013 for the indirect costs due to the EU Emission Trading System, carbon price support mechanism, Renewable Obligation, and small-scale Feed-in Tariff.</p><p> </p><p>The steel sector is actively engaged with UK Research and Innovation in shaping the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: we are providing up to £66m for the ‘Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge’, subject to industry co-funding. In addition, up to a further £170 million has been provided to develop a ‘net-zero carbon’ industrial cluster, that will help heavy industries – including steel – to share expertise and innovate low-carbon solutions as we move to a greener, cleaner economy. We have also created an important new fund – the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund – which is worth up to £315 million, and supports businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future, and cut their bills in the process through increased energy efficiency. Recently, we have launched an informal consultation, and are seeking views and evidence on how we can design the fund to maximise its benefits whilst ensuring value for money.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published information from departments, and their arm’s length bodies, on the amount of steel procured over the last financial year, and the application of the steel procurement guidance. Departments have confirmed that, where applicable, the guidance for steel procurement has been fully complied with on major projects, and we will continue to work closely with these departments and arm’s length bodies to improve procurement guidance awareness, and the quality of the information provided. We have also published an update of the Steel Pipeline, signalling upcoming steel requirements for national infrastructure projects to UK producers and suppliers.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has carefully considered the case for removing plant and machinery (P&amp;M) from business rates valuations, but has decided against doing so. Most process P&amp;M is not rateable, and removing service P&amp;M from rating would mean exempting equipment which is integrated into buildings such as heating, lighting, and plumbing.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 10/04/2019 14:10:12 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1078663

registered interest
date	27/02/2019
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	Conditions of Employment: EU Law
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 legislation will give effect to advances in EU employment rights being replicated in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	226552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister has committed that following further cross-party talks, we will bring forward detailed proposals to ensure that as we leave the EU, we not only protect workers’ rights, but continue to enhance them.</p><p> </p><p>We intend that the legislation will give Parliament a vote on whether it wishes to follow suit whenever the EU standards in areas such as employment rights and health and safety at work are judged to have been strengthened. It would also allow Parliament to ensure that leaving the EU will not lead to any lowering of these standards.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 05/03/2019 15:27:39 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 105653 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1077166

registered interest
date	25/02/2019
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	Fracking: Earthquakes
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 adequacy of regulations governing earthquakes as a result of fracking.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	225406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>The Traffic Light System for monitoring induced seismicity was introduced after consideration of advice from three scientists, following operations at Cuadrilla’s Preese Hall site in 2011. The level of magnitude 0.5 at which operators must pause operations, was set in consultation with industry as an appropriate precautionary measure. These regulations have been working as intended and there are no plans to review the traffic light system.</p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry question first answered 05/03/2019 15:29:53 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1064780

registered interest
date	20/02/2019
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	Vauxhall Motors
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 11 February 2019 to Question 216983 on Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries, whether Vauxhall has (a) applied successfully, (b) applied unsuccessfully and (c) not applied for support through those programmes conducted independently of the Government.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	224516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2019 answer text <p>As noted in my response of 11 February to Question 216983 on the motor vehicle manufacturing industry, the Government has continued to support the automotive sector via a number of routes including the Regional Growth Fund which supports individual investment projects.</p><p> </p><p>I can confirm that Vauxhall has made two applications to the Regional Growth Fund, both of which were successful.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 27/02/2019 16:49:31 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford previous answer version 104404 answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1055308

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
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	Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his oral contribution of 4 February 2019, Official Report column 73, how many car manufacturers operating in the UK have (a) applied successfully, (b) applied unsuccessfully and (c) not applied for support through those programmes conducted independently of the Government.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	216983
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government has continued to support the automotive sector via a number of routes including the Regional Growth Fund to support individual investment projects and the Advanced Propulsion Centre which is aimed at research and development to bring forward the next generation of low carbon technologies to keep the UK at the cutting edge of low carbon automotive innovations.</p><p> </p><p>The number of awards made by these routes are set out in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Scheme</p></td><td><p>(a) – number of UK car manufacturers which have applied successfully<sup>1</sup></p></td><td><p>(b) – number of UK car manufacturers which have applied unsuccessfully<sup>1</sup></p></td><td><p>(c) – number of UK car manufacturers which have not applied</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Regional Growth Fund (since 2010)</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>2<sup>4</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Advanced Propulsion Centre (since 2013)<sup>6</sup></p></td><td><p>8<sup>2</sup></p></td><td><p>3<sup>3</sup></p></td><td><p>3<sup>5</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p><sup>1 </sup>some companies appear in both category (a) and (b) <sup>2</sup> excludes niche vehicle manufacturers and non-passenger car vehicle makers such as bus and off highway <sup>3</sup> two further applications were withdrawn <sup>4 </sup>two volume UK car makers have never applied to RGF <sup>5 </sup>three volume UK car makers have never applied to APC <sup>6</sup>155 unique organisations are participating in APC collaborative R&amp;D projects</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 11/02/2019 15:18:13 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford previous answer version 100732 answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead