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1436484

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
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	Innovation: 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 the role of innovation accelerators is; and how these differ from existing catapults to support the commercial application of research.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131168
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>Innovation Accelerators are a new pilot approach to supporting three UK city regions to become major, globally competitive centres for research and innovation. They will be locally led partnerships involving leaders in local government, business and R&amp;D institutions, working with national Government and R&amp;D funders.</p><p> </p><p>The partnerships will develop plans to accelerate innovation-led growth in their city regions, building on local strengths and opportunities. They will receive dedicated support from the UK Government and will have access to a new £100m fund to support transformational R&amp;D projects that grow R&amp;D strengths, attract private investment, boost innovation diffusion, and maximise the combined economic impact of R&amp;D institutions.</p><p> </p><p>Catapults may be a part of Innovation Accelerators but are sector specific, designed to support innovation and de-risk the transition from research to commercial delivery for small, medium and large businesses. They achieve this through the provision of R&amp;D infrastructure, specialist knowledge and expertise, partnership and collaboration building capabilities and business support.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 08/03/2022 16:35:26 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436813

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Telecommunications: Digital Technology
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of switching the telephone network from copper wires to digital phone lines on resilience to power cuts.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131169
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2022 answer text <p>Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, has issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that their Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) customers have access to the emergency services during a power outage. This guidance was prepared following consultation with Ofgem and the industry, looking at data on average power outages among other factors.</p><p>This guidance states that providers should have at least one solution available that enables access to emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage in the premises, and that the solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline. This might include relying on the mobile network, which has a high degree of power resilience, or using a battery back-up unit to provide power. Ofcom’s full guidance is available on its website <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/123118/guidance-emergency-access-power-cut.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Whilst the upgrade is an industry led initiative, the government and Ofcom are working together to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the upgrade process.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 03/03/2022 09:56:37 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436814

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
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	Power Failures: Emergency Calls
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 he plans to make the 105 power cut phone number the same status as 999 to enable free emergency calls to that number from any mobile phone network.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131170
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>Giving the “105” number a similar status as the 999/112 Public Emergency Call Service number would require a change to primary legislation - most likely to the Communications Act (2003) - which would require thorough consultation with Industry, Ofcom, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 08/03/2022 16:52:58 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436815

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Facebook: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the article entitled Facebook failing to flag harmful climate misinformation, new research finds, published by the Centre for countering digital hate in February 2022, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the findings that Metaverse is unsafe.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131171
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government takes the issue of mis and disinformation very seriously, including climate misinformation. During the COP-26 Summit last year the cross Whitehall Counter Disinformation Unit brought together monitoring and analysis capabilities and expertise from across Government to understand the scope, scale, and nature of disinformation and misinformation risks to the Summit and worked with partners to tackle it. We are regularly engaging with social media platforms to flag content that we consider to be particularly harmful. Where this content breaches their own terms and conditions, we expect platforms to remove it promptly.</p><p>We are also introducing groundbreaking legislation to help prevent the spread of harmful disinformation. The Online Safety Bill will force companies subject to the safety duties to tackle illegal misinformation and disinformation in scope of the Bill, and protect children from harmful content. The biggest platforms will also need to address legal but harmful content for adults, which will include some types of harmful misinformation and disinformation.</p><p>The Bill will apply to all services that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other, regardless of whether users interact through online forums or as avatars in a digital environment. This includes the Metaverse. However, we expect companies to take steps now to improve safety, and not wait for the legislation to come into force before acting.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 08/03/2022 19:24:49 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436816

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of SMEs accessing Public Sector contracts via the digital platform of Bloom Services; and if he will make an assessment of the compatibility of those services with those provided by Crown Commercial Services.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131172
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government wants suppliers of all sizes, including SMEs, to be able to compete for and win government business and we have reduced many of the barriers and bureaucracy in public sector procurement.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We have made no assessment of Bloom Services. However, suppliers are free to use whichever service is most appropriate for them in order to access public contracts.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Contracts Finder covers current and future public sector contracts above £10,000 in central government and £25,000 in the wider public sector. It also includes information on contracts awarded, and whether the contract has been won by small or medium sized businesses or voluntary bodies. It is free to use, and accessible from smartphones and tablets. It is the responsibility of all departments to publish accurate contract notices and award notices on Contracts Finder.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Somerset answering member printed Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg question first answered 03/03/2022 17:48:05 answering member 4099 label Biography information for Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436817

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	T-levels: Small Businesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all SMEs are able to offer T-Level placements across the UK.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131173
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>Small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key to ensuring that industry placements are a successful component of T Levels, as they make up a large proportion of the employer landscape. Through the department’s employer engagement teams, we are engaging directly with employers of all sizes, including SMEs, to explain the benefits of T Levels and of industry hosting placements, and to help provide a strong pipeline of employers, across all sectors, that are ready to offer placements.</p><p>We are providing an extensive programme of support to help ensure employers of all sizes can deliver placements. This includes a comprehensive employer support package, offering guidance, workshops, webinars, tailored advice, and hands-on support to help build employer confidence and capability in delivering high quality industry placements. We have also implemented several different delivery models to ensure placements can be delivered by employers of different sizes, across all industries and locations, and our T Level Ambassador Network is enabling employers, including SMEs, to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements. Finally, we have put in place a short-term incentive fund, offering employers £1,000 per industry placement, to encourage employer engagement during the COVID-19 outbreak. This has been warmly welcomed by SMEs.</p><p>We will continue to monitor the delivery of placements and work closely with employers, including SMEs, to identify what support they will need going forward to deliver high-quality placements.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 08/03/2022 17:02:43 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436818

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Carbon Emissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on ensuring that local skills improvement plans contribute to delivery of national net zero targets.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131174
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>The government takes the UK’s net zero target seriously. This is why we introduced an amendment to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, ensuring that skills required for jobs that support compliance with the UK net zero emissions target are considered in the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans. The Department for Education and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will continue to work closely together to ensure we have the right skills to meet the requirements of a net zero transition.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 08/03/2022 13:58:47 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436819

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
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	Horizon Europe
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 researchers whose funding offers have been revoked due to delays in EU approval of UK participation in Horizon Europe.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131175
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2022 answer text <p>The UK stands ready to formalise our association to EU programmes at the earliest opportunity, but disappointingly there have been persistent delays from the EU.</p><p> </p><p>In order to provide reassurance, the Government has already committed to support the first wave of successful UK applicants to Horizon Europe who are unable to sign grant agreements with the EU due to these delays.</p><p> </p><p>This guarantee, delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will enable awardees to receive the full value of their funding.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will monitor the situation closely and is keeping all measures, including the guarantee, under constant review.</p><p> </p><p>We encourage the UK sector to continue applying to Horizon Europe calls and to continue forming consortia.</p><p> </p><p>Further information on how to apply and technical guidance is on the UKRI <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukri.org%2Fpublications%2Fhorizon-europe-guarantee-notice-and-guidance%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CSRIHub%40beis.gov.uk%7C3545477f32db452f7a7508d9fb9b540f%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C637817466806496931%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=a1GK4SRdRiQRcFt%2BmbyxBP7xpX0cA46GLLdBCS55Oi4%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">website</a>.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 08/03/2022 16:31:44 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436820

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
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	Horizon Europe
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 are being taken to prevent a loss of scientific skills and expertise in the event that the UK fails to secure association to Horizon.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131176
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2022 answer text <p>The UK stands ready to formalise our association to EU programmes, but disappointingly there have been persistent delays from the EU. We cannot wait forever for association to be finalised, and so we are preparing for all scenarios going forward. We will support the UK R&amp;D sector through this uncertain period, either by association to Horizon or through the implementation of an alternative UK programme, if this proves necessary.</p><p>We are currently developing a bold and ambitious long-term UK offer that combines the benefits of Horizon association whilst also strengthening the UK’s global position and enhancing our unique selling points as a global science superpower.</p><p> </p><p>It will build on the Integrated Review and R&amp;D Roadmap and include a strong and attractive offer to encourage talented individuals to build their careers here, developing the skills and workforce the UK needs as well as investing in those areas of research and innovation which support tomorrow's economy, including technologies and missions as set out in the Innovation Strategy.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 03/03/2022 14:30:53 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1436821

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
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: 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, how much funding his Department has allocated to to research on alternative energy resources for (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	131177
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2022 answer text <p>The Department primarily funds research into energy generation through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which in 2020-2021 funded £205 million towards alternative energy resources.</p><p> </p><p>The figures for 2021-22 will be available in the autumn.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 03/03/2022 14:29:36 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah