Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding for the Army Cadet Forces has been reduced; and if so, why.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To enable the Army to continue to deliver within its financial control total, there has been a small reduction in the funding allocated to the Army Cadet Force.
I can assure the Noble Lord that the Army continues to deliver a challenging and rewarding Cadet experience which benefits our young people, the Army and the wider Nation.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that they are able to meet the targets of the Shared Rural Network programme to deliver 95 per cent 4G mobile coverage across the UK landmass by December 2025.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We continue to work with mobile network operators to ensure the Shared Rural Network is delivered on time and that the crucial coverage improvements are delivered across rural parts of the country. We are also taking steps to provide targeted support where appropriate through, for example, focused information packs and support with planning applications. The programme remains on track to deliver 95% UK 4G coverage by the end of 2025. In fact, 4G coverage now stands at 93% which is up from 91% since the Shared Rural Network was agreed in March 2020. This shows the programme is already delivering improved coverage across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks of the NHS using drone delivery supplies in the context of ever busier airspace and a lack of collision avoidance technology.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulate the use of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (drones) to ensure the increased use of drones remains safe and secure for all airspace users. The CAA will approve any drone operations for NHS deliveries based on a safety case, in line with their Operational Risk Assessment.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is available to businesses that export British civil nuclear technology, including small modular reactors.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Department recognises that nuclear technology, including small modular reactors (SMRs), offers a significant UK export opportunity, which could create substantial economic benefits.
The Department for Business and Trade is proud to be supporting the sector, including SMR technology companies, and is working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Ofiice, and across our overseas network, to offer a full range of support for UK exports to responsible nuclear nations.
This includes UK Export Finance, who can consider a range of options to support overseas sales, including loan guarantees for foreign buyers, and working capital, insurance and bond support products to assist UK suppliers.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to maximise the use of UK-manufactured components in small modular reactors in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Small Modular Reactor technology selection process, launched last year by Great British Nuclear, is an open and competitive process. The priority is to select those technologies best able to facilitate operational projects by the mid-2030s. As with any Government decision, this will be subject to value for money, relevant approvals, and technology readiness. This is an exciting time for nuclear and the scale of our ambition means there are likely to be significant supply chain opportunities associated with projects going forward.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeline for the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) competition, and when they expect the first SMR to come online in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 2 October 2023 the government and Great British Nuclear announced the outcome of the latest phase of the SMR Technology Selection Process, with six technology vendors down-selected to go forward to the next stage. The next stage of the process will be launched very shortly. The ambition is to announce in 2024 which of the six companies the Government will support.
The aim is for this to be the fastest competition of its kind in the world, to facilitate operational projects in the mid-2030s.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they are planning to require larger retailers to accept used electrical items for recycling, including products originally bought from other retailers, rather than using existing local authority facilities and specialist scrap metal recycling units.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Large retailers selling electrical products already have an obligation under the UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 to take back equipment for recycling, including products originally bought by other retailers, on sale of an equivalent item. The cost of recycling that waste equipment, and the cost of collection and recycling equipment deposited at local authority household waste recycling centres, is met by importers and manufacturers.
With independent research from Material Focus indicating that at least 500,000 tonnes of waste electricals were lost through being thrown away, hoarded, stolen, or illegally exported every year, the government is consulting on proposals to make it easier for householders to responsibly recycle their waste electrical equipment, through whichever route they find most convenient.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of Grangemouth Refinery on UK energy self-sufficiency.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The owners of Grangemouth refinery, Petroineos, recently announced that they were putting in place the enabling works for a future transition to an import terminal. Petroineos have not taken a decision on when refining operations will cease but they anticipate they will continue until at least May 2025.
The impact of a cessation of refining operations on UK energy self-sufficiency will depend on the supply and demand for fuels at the time. The Government’s Net Zero policies to increase use of electric vehicles and renewable transport fuels, will progressively reduce demand for conventional fuels.
The UK already both imports and exports fuels to balance demand and supply. The Petroineos plans should continue to ensure that customer needs are met.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the process for connecting infrastructure projects to the National Grid, following reports that UK energy companies are taking their investments abroad.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network connections and halve the end-to-end build time for new transmission network infrastructure. The Connections Action Plan, published in November 2023, aims to reduce transmission connection delays from 5 years to no more than 6 months after the date requested by the customer and release over 100 Gigawatts of network capacity. Projects that are able to connect faster are already being offered earlier connection dates, including 10 Gigawatts of battery storage being offered an average of a four year advance in their connection.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Tata Steel's decision to close both blast furnaces at its Port Talbot plant on (1) UK primary steel production, and (2) the UK defence industry.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
HMG have agreed to invest a historic £500 million at Port Talbot as part of Tata Steel's £1.25bn plan to transition to Electric Arc Furnace production.
Following the transformation, the company's modelling suggests the business will be able to produce 90% of its existing order book through the new Electric Arc Furnace. Moving to EAF production will also enable them to satisfy demand from customers who are demanding more green steel.
Tata Steel's plans to cease UK primary steel production at its Port Talbot steelworks are not anticipated to adversely impact defence. Specialist steels that are unavailable from UK sources are already procured by our prime contractors from overseas suppliers. Other grades of steel are likely to remain available from UK sources or are widely available on world markets.