Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of protecting UK author income as part of his Department's review of the future of the exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is currently consulting on the options for the UK’s future exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime. Once the consultation has concluded, the Government will then assess evidence provided during the ongoing policy development process and consultation so that a decision may be made.
The Government welcomes all interested parties to contribute to the consultation.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Society of Authors on the future of the exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Intellectual Property Office (an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) who are responsible for the exhaustion regime has not yet specifically met with the Society of Authors on this matter. The Government has engaged with stakeholders across the publishing sector and continues to do so as part of the public consultation on the UK’s future exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime.
The Government welcomes views from businesses and consumers and encourages interested parties to respond to the consultation document.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 256, Accelerating human relevant life sciences in the UK.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The use of animals in research is carefully regulated and remains important in ensuring new medicines and treatments are safe. At the same time, the Government believes that animals should only be used when there is no practicable alternative and it actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs, which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice and regulations on animal research. Across the UK, the NC3Rs has invested £71 million in research through grants to universities, and almost £27 million in contracts through its CRACK IT Challenges innovation scheme to UK and EU-based institutions, mainly focusing on new approaches for the safety assessment of pharmaceuticals and chemicals that reduce the use of animals.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 1335, COP26 and deep coal mining in the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a global leader in the fight against climate change: since 1990 emissions from the electricity sector have decreased by 72%, while the economy has grown by two thirds. The UK was the first major economy in the world to set a legally binding target to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In line with our Net Zero target, the Government has committed to phasing out unabated coal-fired power generation by 2025, and is consulting on moving this date forward to 2024. The UK has already made great progress in decarbonising its energy system, with coal’s share of electricity generation falling from 40% in 2012 to less than 3% in 2019. The UK Government has also shown strong leadership internationally on the shift from coal power generation to clean energy. We co-launched the Powering Past Coal Alliance with Canada, which has now grown to over 100 members and is leading the COP26 Energy Transition campaign to accelerate the global transition to clean energy. The Government have also announced that we will no longer provide any new direct government support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas.
The planning application for the Whitehaven coal mine relates to metallurgical (coking) coal, rather than coal for electricity generation, and the Government recognises that some industrial processes, including steel production, are particularly difficult to decarbonise as there is currently no commercially viable alternative to coal in blast furnaces. Our priority is supporting innovation to help carbon-intensive industries to decarbonise further. We are taking steps to achieve this through initiatives such as the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, the Industrial Clusters Mission and the Clean Steel Fund. In addition, ahead of COP26, we are working in partnership with other countries to accelerate the pace of industrial decarbonisation, which includes the steel sector. The UK is coordinating action on the research, development and demonstration of new low carbon technologies with other countries, as well as exploring policy options for creating international markets for low carbon industrial products.
Planning decisions are made at a local level and this application is a matter for Cumbria County Council.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effect of Amazon's commercial practices on (a) workers’ rights, (b) the environment, (c) public finances, (d) digital rights and (e) fair markets; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
All employers must comply with employment law. If a worker believes that they have suffered a breach of their employment rights, they can get support and advice from Acas. If they cannot resolve the issue with their employer, they can take a claim to an employment tribunal. The government also spends over £35m a year on enforcement of employment rights to protect vulnerable workers.
Regarding the environment, I welcome the steps that Amazon has taken so far in an effort to decarbonise and encourage the company to continue with its Science-Based Targets commitments and move quickly towards Net Zero, including working with companies in its supply chains.
Regarding public finances, I cannot comment on individual taxpayers.
Regarding digital rights, the UK has strong safeguards and enforcement regimes to ensure that personal data is collected and handled responsibly and securely. We would expect Amazon, like all organisations who process personal data, to comply with the UK’s Data Protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
Regarding fair markets, the Government is committed to ensuring digital markets remain competitive and deliver positive outcomes for consumers, small businesses, and society. That is why we have announced funding to establish a new Digital Markets Unit within the Competition and Markets Authority from 2021-22. We will consult on proposals for a new pro-competition regime for digital markets in early 2021.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on the determination of the UK's Nationally Determined Contributions under the terms of the Paris Agreement of the target of 75 per cent emissions reductions in Scotland by 2030 set by the Scottish Government's Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) will represent the highest possible ambition based on a number of factors including the scope and feasibility of emission reductions measures across the entirety of the UK. Delivering on the NDC will require a whole of UK effort and we will continue to work with the Devolved Administrations on this.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the calculation of the UK's Nationally Determined Contributions under the terms of the Paris Agreement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
There have been a series of discussions between the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and counterparts in the Devolved Administrations at official and ministerial level on the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution, and these discussions will continue.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the number of businesses prevented from accessing the Bounce Back Loan Scheme due to being declined for feeder accounts by banks after a credit check.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 prevent lenders blocking businesses from accessing the Bounce Back Loan Scheme by requiring them to set up feeder accounts which are subject to credit checks that do not apply to the loan itself.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLS) rules do not mandate that the applicant must have a business relationship with the lender in order to receive a BBLS loan.
Certain lenders may require that you enter into a business relationship with them before you can apply and, within their standard policies and terms and conditions of business, some lenders may not permit an existing customer to operate their business via a personal account.
While all lending decisions remain solely at the discretion of the lender, the Government have always made clear to lenders that they should open to new customers as soon as it is operationally possible for them to do so.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government's response to the consultation on the future of UK carbon pricing published on 1 June 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) merits and (b) costs of a carbon free and dividend policy; and for what reasons his policy is not to implement that policy at this time.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
A carbon fee and dividend is an alternative form of carbon pricing policy. The UK already prices carbon through, for example, our participation in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
The UK Government and Devolved Administrations are establishing a UK Emissions Trading System, with increased ambition on carbon pricing. The new system will ensure a smooth transition for businesses as the UK is set to leave EU system after the Transition Period at the end of the year, while also allowing us to have autonomy over its design and governance.
The UK Government has, on 21 July, also published a consultation on the design of a domestic carbon emission tax as an alternative to a UK ETS. This option will ensure a carbon price remains in place in the UK in all scenarios.