Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their innovation strategy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the recent ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ published alongside Budget, the government announced the publication of a new Innovation Strategy in the summer.
In line with its commitment, BEIS is currently working across government to develop the Strategy in time for then.
The Strategy will outline how we look to achieve our ambitions in innovation and where we want to focus our efforts over the next decade.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they decided to disband the Industrial Strategy Council; and what plans they have to replace it with another independent body.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has decided that the Industrial Strategy Council in its current form will no longer be needed to monitor and evaluate the impact of the Industrial Strategy, following Industrial Strategy’s transition to Build Back Better: our plan for growth, and so will be wound down after its Annual Report. We will draw on the Industrial Strategy Council’s work and expertise, both on success metrics and insight projects, in taking forward further work in this area.
However, we must ensure our plan is carried through with a relentless focus on delivery and we will continue to evaluate our work. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet Secretary have asked Sir Michael Barber to conduct a rapid review of government delivery to ensure that it remains focused, effective and efficient, and to suggest how it could be strengthened.
Furthermore, The Build Back Better Business Council was convened by the Prime Minister to support ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’. The Build Back Better Business Council brings together a broad range of business leaders from across the whole British economy to work in partnership with the Government to recover from COVID-19, unlock investment, boost job creation, level up the whole of the UK, and promote Global Britain.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact, and (2) the effectiveness, of the Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The majority of the 142 policy commitments in the 2017 Industrial Strategy are now in delivery phases, with around £45 billion of funding assigned to Industrial Strategy initiatives.
We have made progress strengthening the foundations of productivity, by investing in transport, housing, and digital infrastructure through the National Productivity Investment Fund. On skills, we have invested in maths, digital and technical education, and in September 2020 we introduced T-Levels.
The Grand Challenges and missions have strengthened the UK’s standing as a global leader in AI, clean growth, healthy ageing, and future transport technology, bringing Government together with industry to inspire and develop an Innovation Strategy that will improve lives and support our economy. This includes securing our landmark legislative commitment to end the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050, while supporting our businesses to adapt to a decarbonised future.
We have brought industry along with us, publishing eleven Sector Deals across ten sectors – comprising over 170 individual commitments with £3.25 billion in combined investment from industry and Government, including Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund monies.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which department leads on the Industrial Strategy; whether that department will continue to lead that strategy (1) during the next financial year, and (2) to the end of the current parliament; and if that department will not continue to lead that strategy, (a) which department will do so, and (b) whether the Industrial Strategy will need to be updated.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the Industrial Strategy was published in 2017, the UK has been presented with new challenges and new opportunities; we have legislated to end our contribution to climate change by 2050, we are forging a new path outside the European Union and continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore right that we take a fresh look at our plans for industrial policy and long-term economic growth.
We are morphing and changing the Industrial Strategy into Build Back Better: our plan for growth and its supporting strategies to reflect the change in economic landscape since 2017. The plan and its supporting strategies will protect and create jobs as we transition to net zero with a renewed focus on infrastructure, skills, and innovation.
Although ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ has been led by HM Treasury, this is setting the framework for the work that we will do across Government to ensure we build back better from the current challenges and deliver long term economic growth. Ministers and Departmental officials will continue to work together to ensure our priorities are met, delivering these strategies to ensure longer-term economic growth.
In order to support the Government’s ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’, the Department plans to set out details of our approach to supporting sectors, places, and technologies in the Innovation Strategy. The Department is already leading on strategies with respect to net zero, hydrogen and, innovation itself, as well as the space strategy. The work the Department has and continues to do has contributed greatly to the work for ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ and will contribute to its supporting strategies.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Company Voluntary Arrangements were made in the last 12 months for which data is held.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There were 286 Company Voluntary Arrangements registered in the UK between January and December 2020.
These data have been extracted from the publicly available quarterly insolvency statistics published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for altering the voting procedure for Company Voluntary Arrangements.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has no plans to alter the voting procedure for company voluntary arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to the UK’s continued membership of Horizon Europe; and what plans they have made if an agreement with the EU is not reached.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s recently published Research and Development Roadmap sets out our aim to maintain a close and friendly relationship with our European partners and we are in negotiations with the EU to participate in the next generation of European research and innovation programmes starting in 2021: Horizon Europe and Euratom Research and Training. Negotiations with the Commission are constructive and we are open to participation, but there are still some areas to be agreed – including financial contributions and suspension and termination clauses.
As a responsible government, we are also developing a range of alternative measures to support international research and innovation alongside progressing the Horizon Europe negotiations. If we do not formally associate to Horizon Europe we will implement ambitious alternatives as quickly as possible from January 2021. This includes launching an ambitious new Discovery Fund, making funding available to allow UK partners to participate in European schemes open to third countries, and scaling up our most prestigious domestic research and innovation schemes.
In all scenarios, it is our aim that UK organisations and entities continue to participate in Horizon Europe collaborative projects, as well as in wider international collaborations.