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Written Question
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Contracts
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of his Department's tenders were awarded by direct award in the financial year 2021-2022.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

BEIS awarded 17 direct award contracts in financial year 2021/2022, which equates to 5% of contracts awarded by the Department.


Written Question
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Contracts
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

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 policy paper entitled BEIS small and medium enterprises (SME) action plan: 2022 to 2025, published on 26 January 2023, what recent estimate his Department has made of when the facility to capture feedback from suppliers at the end of a competitive tender process will be introduced.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The current planned timeline would be to implement the feedback mechanism in quarter one of financial year 2023/2024.


Written Question
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South 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 their Department takes to comply with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; and if they will make a statement.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) provides specific Human Resources data/information to Departmental Trades Union Side (DTUS), on request, in line with our obligations under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Furthermore, BEIS publishes a range of information about the operation of the Department, which is available on GOV.UK and so is publicly accessible.

In addition, BEIS meets regularly with the DTUS, presenting and sharing a range of management information as part of normal engagement on a spectrum of issues. Information and data are supplied where it is appropriate and in line with privacy statements. This helps inform decision making through formal negotiation and meaningful consultation and engagement. BEIS always seeks to work constructively with trade unions to reach fair and reasonable settlements.


Written Question
Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill 2022-23: Canterbury
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)

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 impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on public workers in Canterbury.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department is conducting an economic impact assessment of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which takes the most recent industrial action, as well as other instances of industrial action, into consideration. This will be published shortly.


Written Question
Procurement
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has a policy on the stockpiling of critical materials.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

The Critical Minerals Strategy sets out the Government’s plans to make critical mineral supply chains more resilient. The Department of International Trade’s Supply Chains Resilience framework highlighted stockpiling as one of five possible areas to explore when building resilience in supply chains. We are analysing the pros and cons of stockpiling, including engagement of stakeholders and international partners, before making commitments.


Written Question
Minerals: Foreign Relations
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)

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 publication of the Critical Mineral Strategy, what steps is his Department taking to engage with mineral-rich countries.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

We work collaboratively with mineral producing countries, putting environmental, social and governance considerations at the heart of our engagement. In recent months the UK has signed a Partnership on Minerals for Future Clean Energy Technologies with South Africa and agreed to deepen collaboration on critical minerals with Saudi Arabia. To support this work, I will be travelling to the Mining Indaba in South Africa, where I will meet with my ministerial counterparts to strengthen UK ties with key producer countries, attend the Minerals Security Partnership Ministerial, and promote the UK’s key role in global critical mineral supply chains


Written Question
Small Businesses: Bexley
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many SMEs in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley Borough received Government financial support in 2022.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Businesses in Bexleyheath and Crayford will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs approximately £4,200 on average, the cut to fuel duty for 12 months and raising the Employment Allowance to £5,000.

The Energy Bill Relief and Energy Bill Discount Schemes will protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter. The Autumn Statement announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.

The Government is providing financial support – 128 SMEs in Bexleyheath and Crayford have received Start Up loans to the value of £1,377,883 and 331 SMEs in Bexley Borough to the value of £3,423,737.


Written Question
Drugs: Trade
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership Fulfilling the potential identified in the Government's Life Sciences Vision, published on 24 January, what assessment they have made of its findings that since 2010, the UK has fallen from 4th to 98th place in overall trade balance in pharmaceuticals.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Life Sciences pharmaceutical manufacturing was responsible for $27.7bn exports in 2021. Official statistics from the Office for Life Sciences show that employment in core biopharmaceutical manufacturing employment declined between 2009 and 2019, but increased by 5% between 2019 and 2021. The Life Sciences Vision sets out an ambition to create a globally competitive environment for Life Science manufacturing investments. To help meet these ambitions, the Government launched the £60m Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund in March 2022 to incentivise globally mobile manufacturing investments in the UK.


Written Question
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: EU Law
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask His Majesty's Government which retained EU laws the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is planning to reform or revoke in the event of a passage into law of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Individual departments are currently in the process of assessing all their REUL and developing proposals for whether they intend to revoke or reform each piece of legislation, or preserve it from the sunset.

Once this process is complete, Government will announce its intention for the areas where it will focus on reform, where it will repeal or allow REUL to sunset, and where it will seek to retain the status quo. We will be ambitious but mindful of ensuring that businesses and stakeholders are engaged and consulted in the usual way on policy changes, whilst upholding commitments already given at the despatch box.


Written Question
Minerals
Tuesday 7th February 2023

Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical minerals for the UK economy; and whether such a plan will be published.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In July 2022, the Government published its first ever Critical Minerals Strategy, setting out our approach to improving the resilience of critical mineral supply chains. It will safeguard UK industry, support the energy transition and protect our national security. The strategy sets out how the Government will accelerate our domestic capabilities, collaborate with international partners and enhance international markets. The Government are planning to publish a Critical Minerals Refresh in Spring 2023 to reinforce the strategy, highlight its progress, and set out upcoming delivery milestones.