Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce business rates for those businesses in the aviation sector affected by the COVID-19 travel ban.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has renewed the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS), which provides support for eligible commercial airports and ground handlers in England, for an additional 6 months from 1 April 2021. It will cover the equivalent of their business rates liabilities or COVID-19 losses – whichever is lower – for the first 6 months of the 2021/22 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per claimant of £4m.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent of the loss of air routes in Europe since the UK left the EU.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The new UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) does not place any restriction on air services between points in the UK and points in the EU, ensuring that UK-EU trade can continue to travel freely by air.
Furthermore, the TCA recognises that, at their discretion, EU Member states may permit UK airlines to operate non-scheduled air services within and beyond the EU. The TCA also allows the UK and individual EU Member States to negotiate and agree a bilateral exchange of additional “5th Freedom” all-cargo rights. My officials are engaging closely with EU Member States and with industry on these matters.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings they have had with representatives of the aviation industry to discuss the aviation COVID-19 recovery package.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Department for Transport has engaged very regularly with the industry, including through both Ministerial meetings and official led sessions.
As announced on 22 February as part of the roadmap for the phased lifting of restrictions in England, the Secretary of State for Transport will also now lead a successor to the Global Travel Taskforce to develop a framework that can facilitate greater international travel when the time is right, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants.
The Government is also developing a forward looking strategic framework on the recovery of the sector, which we engage with the industry on and will publish later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of forecast (1) recovery, and (2) growth, in (a) air transport, and (b) the travel sector.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has not produced economic forecasts of recovery and growth in the air transport or travel sectors. The Department maintains a capability to produce a range of passenger demand scenarios, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the potential shape of recovery, for internal use.
The Department recognises the severe impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on travel, and work continues to understand how best the industry can be supported at this time. The Government is working on a strategic framework for the recovery of the sector. It will explore the return to growth of the aviation sector, and will include consideration of workforce and skills, regional connectivity, noise, innovation and regulation, and consumer issues.
Aviation businesses have access to the unprecedented economic support package that the Chancellor has put in place to help businesses to manage the challenges they are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to this, the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS) opened for applications on 29 January to provide support for eligible commercial airports and ground handlers in England.
Through the Global Travel Taskforce, the Government will work closely with the industry to find ways to safely and gradually ease restrictions on international travel. We will set out more detail on this soon.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s regional aviation network.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to supporting regional connectivity across all transport modes, including the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in UK to deliver connectivity.
We welcome the engagement and evidence provided by the industry over the past several months through the Expert Steering Group and bi-lateral discussions and will build on this engagement and collaboration to develop measures to support regional air connectivity, particularly in the context of sector recovery.
In addition, the Union Connectivity Review will make recommendations on how the UK Government can level up transport infrastructure and improve connectivity between the four nations, looking at road, rail, air and sea links.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a planned timetable for the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s decisions on notifications being submitted in the correct form under the mandatory notification procedure proposed in the National Security and Investment Bill; and if so, what that timetable is.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State must decide to accept or reject a mandatory notification as soon as is reasonably practicable. If a notification is accepted, the Secretary of State will be required to issue any call-in notice within 30 working days. If the statutory test is met and the Secretary of State decides to call in an acquisition, they have a further 30 working days to decide whether to impose any final remedies. This is extendable by a further 45 working days, and subsequent to this a mutually agreed voluntary period or periods, if the relevant legal test is met.
A draft notification form was published alongside the introduction of the Bill on 11 November 2020, to help interested parties understand what information is likely to be required for a valid notification.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have defined what asset transactions should be referred to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under the proposed rules in the National Security and Investment Bill; whether they intend to exclude any such transactions from those rules; and if so, which transactions they intend to exclude.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of the proposed National Security and Investment regime, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be able to call-in acquisitions of control over qualifying assets to scrutinise them for potential national security concerns. Before any acquisitions can be called-in, the Secretary of State must publish a Statement setting out how they expect to use this call-in power. The Government expects parties will use this Statement to help decide whether to voluntarily notify both entity and asset acquisitions to the Secretary of State.
A draft of the Statement was published alongside the introduction of the Bill on 11 November 2020. It explains that certain areas of the economy are expected to be the areas most likely to give rise to national security risks. That includes acquisitions of control over assets that are integral to the relevant activities of the entities within those sectors.
This will ensure that parties are unable to simply circumvent the regime by acquiring sensitive assets rather than the entities that own these assets. The Secretary of State does, however, expect to intervene in such acquisitions exceedingly rarely.
Clause 11 of the Bill provides the Secretary of State with the power to amend the types of asset acquisitions of control that fall within scope of this regime through secondary legislation. The Secretary of State will keep the functioning of this regime under review and will consider over time whether any further exemptions are appropriate. Any use of this power would be guided by the operation of the regime in practice and any patterns of activity that are observed.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regulatory burden on universities when making screening decisions for research funding; and what plans they have to reduce any such burden
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is taking a number of steps to reduce the overall bureaucratic burden on universities in receipt of research funding. The Government will shortly announce an independent review of research bureaucracy. This will build on the initiatives already underway in major public funding organisations.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK. UKRI requires institutions, including universities, applying to its research opportunities to demonstrate compliance against several requirements depending on the type of opportunity and nature of the proposed research. These are:
In addition, UKRI may also request information concerning the support available for career development and training of staff involved in the proposed research.
UKRI regularly review and improve their processes following ongoing consultation and discussion with applicants to their opportunities and institutions, including universities.
UKRI has recently launched a new programme, Simpler and Better Funding, to review and improve its systems and processes for applicants, institutions and wider stakeholders.
With regard to health and care research funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, the National Institute of Health Research is working to reduce administrative burdens across the health and care research sector in a number of areas - one of these being the funding application process.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce rules to govern screening decisions in relation to foreign investment in research and development based in the UK to ensure that such investment can take place without disruption.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government published advice called Trusted Research in September 2019. This aims to support the integrity of the system of international research collaboration. It outlines potential risks to UK research and innovation. It helps researchers have confidence in international collaboration and make informed decisions around potential risks. It also explains how to protect research and staff from potential theft, misuse of exploitation. The sector is adopting the advice and institutions are changing the ways they make decisions on such investments.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they have provided to students who have to continue paying for their university accommodation but cannot live there due to the restrictions n place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This has been a very difficult time for students, as it has for everyone, and we encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are fair, clear, and have the interests of students at heart.
Since universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and responsible for setting their own rent agreements, the government plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Whether students are entitled to a refund or to an early release from their contract will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between them and their provider.
If students have concerns about their accommodation fees, they should first raise their concerns with their accommodation provider. If their concerns remain unresolved, and their higher education provider is involved in the provision of the accommodation, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint.
If students think their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/, https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.
More broadly, the government does of course recognise the financial hardship that some students may face in these exceptional circumstances. The Department for Education has worked with the Office for Students to clarify that higher education providers are able to draw on existing funds, worth around £256 million for academic year 2020/2021, towards hardship support. We are also making available an additional £50 million of hardship funding this financial year. In total we have made £70 million of funding available for student hardship given the £20 million made available to higher education providers in December 2020.