Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what level of carbon savings the Government expects through the (a) sustainable farming incentive, (b) local nature recovery scheme and (c) landscape recovery scheme; and what percentage of the total carbon savings during the (i) 4th, (ii) 5th and (iii) 6th carbon budget periods the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government anticipates its environmental land management schemes, the Farming Innovation Fund and other farming offers will reduce agricultural emissions by up to 6 MtCO2e per year in Carbon Budget 6 in England. The Government will also pursue opportunities through tree planting and peat restoration.
The Net Zero Strategy sets out cross-economy action to keep the UK on track for meeting carbon budgets and includes a range for emissions savings for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses, Waste and Fluorinated Gases. These are indicative pathways: allowing the UK to respond flexibly to changes that arise over time, including technology and innovation developments.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much Overseas Development Assistance funding his Department allocated to the Clean Technology Fund in 2020-21; and when he plans to release the Overseas Development Assistance funding allocation for the Clean Technology Fund in 2021-22.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK support for the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), as part of the umbrella Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), is an important element of UK global leadership to tackle climate change and mobilise climate finance at scale.
BEIS allocated £12,583,808 to the CTF in 2020-21, to enable developing countries accelerate adoption of appropriate renewable energy technologies.
Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) funding allocations decisions for CTF in 2021-22 are being reviewed as part of wider ODA budgeting processes for 2021-22 and will be released as part of standard Government commitments on ODA transparency.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on the Consultation, Aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition, which closed on 8 February 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The consultation was produced at no additional cost to the Government.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he had with the board of CDC Group and UK Export Finance ahead of the announcement of the Aligning UK International Support for Energy Transition consultation on 12 December 2020.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has been in consistent contact with government departments and arms length bodies throughout the development of the consultation, the associated announcement, and pursuant Government response and implementation.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish his Department’s definition of clean energy products and services included in the new overseas fossil fuel policy outlined in the UK Government’s response to the Aligning UK International Support for Energy Transition consultation.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government published detailed guidance accompanying the implementation of the policy shift on 31st March. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-the-government-will-implement-its-policy-on-support-for-the-fossil-fuel-energy-sector-overseas.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve transparency and ensure due diligence is undertaken for new businesses registering with Companies House prior to the conclusion of ongoing Government consultations on corporate transparency and register reform.
Answered by Paul Scully
Government proposals to improve the accountability of people owning and controlling companies were set out in our transparency and register reform consultation response published in September 2020.
Companies House has strong working relationships with a range of law enforcement agencies, including the Insolvency Service, HMRC, the National Crime Agency and others Within its current powers to act and share information, Companies House is continually improving collaboration with UK Law Enforcement and trusted private sector partners.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many responses his Department received to its consultation on Aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition from (a) individuals, (b) businesses and (c) NGOs and third sector organisations.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The consultation closed on February 8th and the UK Government is now considering the information received and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
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 the responses to his Department's consultation on Aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition called for a policy implementation date of (a) March 2021, (b) June 2021, (c) October 2021 and (d) later than 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The consultation closed on February 8th and the UK Government is now considering the information received and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
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 implications of the end of the transition period for the recognition of British ski instructors' qualifications in the rest of Europe.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, British ski instructors who have had their qualifications recognised and who are resident or a frontier worker in the EU Member State that recognised them at the end of the Transition Period will have that recognition protected, and will be able to continue to work there. This includes qualifications which have been recognised before the end of the Transition Period under the EU legislation establishing a Common Training Test for ski instructors.
The EU legislation which established the Common Training Test for ski instructors applies to EU citizens only. Accordingly, it will not apply to UK citizens not within scope of the Withdrawal Agreement who wished to rely on it in the EU after the end of the Transition Period.
The recognition of UK professional qualifications across all industries (including ski instructors) in the EU after the end of the Transition Period is subject to ongoing negotiations with the EU, and the local laws and regulations in Member States.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
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 risks to the UK’s energy security in the event that a deal is not reached on the future relationship with the EU after the transition period; and what steps his Department is taking to mitigate risks arising from that matter to the UK’s energy supply.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK has one of the most reliable energy systems in the world. The UK’s exit from the EU does not alter the fact that our energy system is resilient and secure, and UK energy is supplied from diverse sources. Electricity and gas will continue to flow over interconnectors between the UK and the EU at the end of the transition period in any scenario. We have planned extensively for the end of the transition period, alongside industry, to ensure electricity demands are met. We are confident that electricity margins will remain adequate and that the electricity system is able to respond to any changes in demand securely and efficiently. The forecast electricity margin for this winter is healthy, at 4.8GW or 8.3% additional generation.
The UK gas market is one of the world’s most developed and provides security through supply diversity, most of which is not dependent on the EU. The forecast gas margin for this winter is healthy, at around 79 million cubic metres or 15% more supply than would be required to meet demand on the coldest day in 20 winters.