Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, or intend to make, of the report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, Beyond ECO: the future of fuel poverty support, published on 3 July, and its conclusion that they are set to miss their 2030 target of delivering energy efficiency measures for fuel poor households as set out in their report Cutting the cost of keeping warm – a fuel poverty strategy for England (Cm9019), published 3 March 2015, by at least sixty years.
Answered by Lord Henley
We recently announced that the Energy Company Obligation will be entirely focused on low income households from later in 2018, in a new scheme that will run to 2022. We also committed in the Clean Growth Strategy to extending energy efficiency support from 2022 to 2028 at least at the current level of ECO, bringing the total investment to over £6bn over the next decade. As part of this we will review the best form of support beyond 2022, recognising the need to both save carbon and meet the Government’s commitment to upgrade all fuel poor homes to EPC Band C by 2030. Research such as the July IPPR report provide valuable inputs to decision making around achieving the target. The latest statistics show that there were nearly 800,000 fewer E, F or G rated fuel poor homes in 2016 compared to 2010 and that we had reached 91% of fuel poor homes were rated E or above in line with our 2020 milestone.
The initial focus of our work on fuel poverty has been to improve the least energy efficient homes. We are aware that this focus on the worst homes has meant that we have not yet begun to improve the proportion of fuel poor homes rated C or above and we will be assessing the appropriate policy mix to improve fuel poor homes to that standard over the 2020s.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they (1) support, and (2) plan to support, independent booksellers and bookshops across the UK, including any initiatives undertaken in cooperation with local authorities and the devolved administrations.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government works with all types of retailers based in the UK to better understand their concerns and has taken action to support them. Specific initiatives which have benefited independent booksellers and bookshops include: making 100% Small Business Rate Relief permanent, whilst increasing the threshold of the relief, taking 600,000 of the smallest businesses out of business rates and the introduction of the Employment Allowance, giving employers up to £3000 off their National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill, benefitting 1m employers. The Government has also established the Future High Street Forum, chaired by the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth. It provides joint business and government leadership to help support new and small business to start up and compete by having regard to the costs and regulatory burdens for small retailers, whilst factoring in the opportunities of digital trends.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Professor Mariana Mazzucato's recent evaluation of innovation-led growth and strategic public investment.
Answered by Lord Henley
Government does not tend to undertake assessments or comment on independent work such as that undertaken by Professor Mazzucato.
Innovation is about new ideas, new ways of doing things, new goods and services and new technologies that are central to driving productivity and a key driver of our modern Industrial Strategy.
Our Industrial Strategy will enable the UK to work more productively and boost earning power of people, businesses and places and the nation as a whole. To support UK priorities in key areas of innovation we will invest a further £725m in a second wave of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, turning our research into global industrial and commercial leads. We will ensure that the UK is the best pace for innovators and through our Grand Challenges we will invite business, academia and civil society to work together to innovate and develop new technologies.
We have committed to raise investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027; we will invest an additional £2.3bn in 2021, raising total public investment in R&D to approximately £12.5bn. Increasing public R&D spending as a share of GDP each year and making a total increase of £7bn over five years. This will be the biggest ever increase in public funding R&D.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 1 August (HL1112), in what ways their Industrial Strategy will better support social enterprises.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government’s ambitious, modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It sets out how we are building a Britain fit for the future – how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the United Kingdom with investment in the skills, industries and infrastructure of the future.
We will drive productivity in businesses and social enterprises of all sizes by increasing collaboration, building skills and ensuring everyone has the opportunity of ‘good work’ and better, higher-paying jobs. We will create a business environment equipped for the challenges and opportunities of new technologies and new ways of doing business, including innovative social enterprises that make an enormous contribution to our economy and our communities across the country.
The Government is clear that the industrial strategy is part of our work to deliver an economy that works for everyone. It is a long term strategy to boost productivity and earning power of all people throughout the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage, promote and support businesses, including social enterprises, to increase their trade with other businesses at a local level.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Businesses and social enterprises are vital to our economy and it is important we create the best possible environment to enable firms, both large and small, to identify and exploit opportunities to trade locally, nationally and in overseas markets. As part of our Industrial Strategy, we will make the most of the diverse strengths of all of Britain’s cities and regions to attract more investment and therefore create more opportunities for companies to trade with each other. For example the decision by BMW to build the all-electric Mini at its plant in Oxford will boost commercial opportunities for existing and new companies in the local region.
Industrial Strategy will also help us identify opportunities to help all businesses create jobs and wealth across the economy. The Government has invested £44m in the creation of a network of 38 Growth Hubs via Local Enterprise Partnerships, to provide access to impartial and coordinated business support to all registered businesses in England.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to authorise a moratorium on fracking in England until all available evidence relating to its environmental, economic and social impacts has been independently reviewed and assessed.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
A moratorium on hydraulic fracturing was previously imposed in the UK after the detection of two small tremors related to shale gas development in Lancashire in 2011. The Government asked the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering to conduct an independent review of the scientific and engineering evidence on the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, which concluded that “The health, safety and environmental risks associated with hydraulic fracturing as a means to extract shale gas can be managed effectively in the UK as long as operational best practices are implemented and enforced through regulation”. The Government lifted the moratorium in December 2012 and supports the safe and environmentally sound exploration of shale gas to determine the potential of the UK’s resources.