Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government is supporting the implementation of the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan which calls for women’s equal participation in climate change negotiations through its Presidency of COP26.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK is fully committed to implementing and facilitating the implementation of the enhanced UNFCCC Gender Action Plan agreed at COP25, both domestically and internationally. We welcome the steps taken so far by Parties, non-Party stakeholders and the UNFCCC Secretariat to centre gender equality in climate action. We continue to call on all countries to implement the Gender Action Plan and to develop gender-responsive climate policies, plans, strategies and actions.
We recognise the impact of climate change on women and girls, in particular those from the global south or indigenous communities. The UK is committed to providing sufficient space for key constituencies, including women and girls from these communities, to participate and express their views. For example, through the UK-funded Climate Ambition Support Alliance, we are supporting the ECBI (European Capacity Building Initiative) ‘Women Negotiator Mentoring Initiative.’ This initiative will help to level the playing field in international climate negotiations, not only in terms of developed and developing countries, but also between men and women.
More broadly, the UK is committed to championing diversity and inclusivity throughout our COP26 Presidency. Our network of leaders, diplomatic representatives and expert voices reflect this in all of their work. We are also working with a diverse group of "Friends of COP" - leading world figures who are sharing their expertise for a successful summit.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the effect of climate change on gender equality and women and girls in the global south is being tackled through its presidency of COP26.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Through our Presidency of COP26, we will support all to be active agents of change in addressing climate and environment issues. We will champion women, indigenous people and other key groups roles as decision-makers, educators and climate leaders in order to deliver effective, long-term solutions to climate change. For example, through the UK-funded Climate Ambition Support Alliance, we are supporting the ECBI (European Capacity Building Initiative) ‘Women Negotiator Mentoring Initiative.’ This initiative will help to level the playing field in international climate negotiations, not only in terms of developed and developing countries, but also between men and women.
The UK is also fully committed to implementing and facilitating the implementation of the Gender Action Plan agreed at COP25, both domestically and internationally. We recognise that the Gender Action Plan is a valuable tool in addressing the differentiated impacts of climate change and continue to call on all countries to develop gender-responsive climate policies, plans, strategies and actions.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention of key workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government defines key workers as those whose work are critical to the Coronavirus response. This includes those who work in the health and social care sectors, as well as in education and childcare, transport, food and delivery, utilities, communications, public safety, and the Government.
To assist retention, schools will provide essential support to the most vulnerable children and the children of those identified as key workers.
In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care is enhancing the capacity and flexible deployment of staff across essential services, for example:
By protecting the employment rights of NHS volunteers.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What steps he is taking to support the renewable energy sector.
Answered by Claire Perry
The development of renewable energy is a tremendous UK success story.
Thanks to our significant investment and support, renewable capacity has quadrupled since 2010. Last year 30% of our electricity generation came from renewable sources.
The Clean Growth Strategy sets out further actions for supporting renewables.
£557 million of annual support is being made available to bring forward new renewable electricity projects, as well as £4.5bn between 2016 and 2021 to support low carbon heating under the Renewable Heat Incentive, and £177m (for renewables) between 2015 and 2021 for innovation projects.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to tackle the skills gap.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Through our Industrial Strategy, we will deliver on our plans for the new Institutes of Technology which will help deliver excellence in technical education across the country, harnessing the expertise of employers to fill local skills gaps and providing learners with a clear route to employment or higher education.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times he has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012, including meetings as part of official visits in Scotland.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many times she has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.
Answered by Amber Rudd
I visited Scotland in May 2016 for the inauguration of the Shetland Gas Plant, and again in June 2016 to attend the Oil and Gas Industry Conference. Details of meetings with external organisations will be published in due course at www.gov.uk.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the value of trade between the UK and Cuba has been in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Data on the value of trade in goods between the UK and Cuba are available for the last 10 years from the HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics database. Figures are on a border basis.
Data on the value of trade in services between the UK and Cuba are available for the years 2013 and 2014 in the ONS Pink Book 2015. Figures are on a balance of payments (BPM6) basis. Earlier years are not available on a consistent basis. 2015 data will be published in Pink Book 2016.
The goods and services data from the HMRC and ONS sources are on a different basis, figures on the same basis are not available.