Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to introduce a cap on fees charged by third-party food delivery apps to restaurants.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a cap on fees charged by third-party food delivery apps to restaurants.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 a list of Innovate UK funding competition winners for 2021 by combined authority area.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All Innovate UK (IUK) funded projects are listed in the transparency data published on the GOV.UK website. This includes postcode, Region, LEP, and Local Authority information. Details of funded projects can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 effect of the end of the EU's orphan works exception on academic institutions; and whether his Department is making an assessment of ways in which UK regulations can be updated to enable research through an orphan works exception.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government engaged with stakeholders and published guidance in January 2020 on the removal of the exception for affected institutions during the transition period. The UK’s orphan works licensing scheme continues to be available, as do exceptions to copyright for purposes including research and private study. The Government presently has no plans to update these.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when Vivacity Labs, operating on behalf of the Department, first used cameras that use artificial intelligence to monitor pedestrians to improve the collection of social distancing data in Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Vivacity Labs is one of many COVID-19 related projects funded through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The Vivacity Labs project referred to was supported through the Innovate UK COVID-19 call for business-led innovation in response to global disruption due to the pandemic.
Vivacity Labs used smart sensors that do not pick up images to monitor road usage.
The data sets being used in this project date from April 2019. This project is applying a new algorithm to this existing data and analyses the spatial differences (gaps, interactions etc.) between different modes of transport and not individuals.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on how many occasions he and his Department have had discussions with (a) Nvidia and (b) Arm on the sale of Arm from Softbank to Nvidia.
Answered by Paul Scully
Departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK. Details for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
The latest published data covers January to March 2020. Data for April to June 2020 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 make it his policy to mandate businesses to publish their covid-19 risk assessments.
Answered by Paul Scully
Publishing risk assessments is not a legal obligation, but we are asking companies to consider publishing the results of their risk assessments whenever possible. We recommend that larger companies – those with over 50 workers – publish the results of their risk assessments. The results of a risk assessment, however, must be shared with employees if requested.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many UK (a) businesses and (b) universities are accredited as Investors in People.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Investors in People is responsible for awarding the Investors in People standard. Since 1 February 2017 this has been a Community Interest Company, which is not part of the Government.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the potential financial effect on the higher education institutions of UK Research and Innovation's review of its Open Access policy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s university research sustainability taskforce is examining how best to respond to the challenges for the sector resulting from COVID-19, with the aim of sustaining the university research base and its capability to contribute effectively to UK society and economy in the recovery from COVID-19 and beyond. Given the broader focus and urgency of addressing the impacts of COVID-19, at this time, the outcome of the UKRI Open Access Review does not form part of the taskforce's consideration.
The OA Review is independent from Plan S. Working internationally however, is important to help achieve open access. UKRI has joined cOAlition S, a consortium comprising research funders and foundations from across the world and supported by the European Commission and the European Research Council. The coalition aims to help make full and immediate Open Access to research publications a reality, and is built around the Plan S principles. UKRI will consider outcomes of the work of cOAlition S as part of its ongoing Open Access Review alongside other evidence and inputs. The outcomes of the review will determine decisions on UKRI’s OA policy.
As part of the UKRI open access review, UKRI is working with BEIS to consider implications for stakeholders. UKRI has commissioned an independent analysis to help assess the possible implications for various groups, including higher education institutions. This analysis will include direct costs and benefits and wider social and economic implications, and will be considered alongside other evidence gathered through the review, including via the consultation on a proposed UKRI policy which has recently closed. The consideration of the COVID-19 impacts on research sector, including economic implications, will be taken into account in the UKRI review.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if UK Research and Innovation’s review of Open Access policy is independent from the work of the cOAlition S consortium.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s university research sustainability taskforce is examining how best to respond to the challenges for the sector resulting from COVID-19, with the aim of sustaining the university research base and its capability to contribute effectively to UK society and economy in the recovery from COVID-19 and beyond. Given the broader focus and urgency of addressing the impacts of COVID-19, at this time, the outcome of the UKRI Open Access Review does not form part of the taskforce's consideration.
The OA Review is independent from Plan S. Working internationally however, is important to help achieve open access. UKRI has joined cOAlition S, a consortium comprising research funders and foundations from across the world and supported by the European Commission and the European Research Council. The coalition aims to help make full and immediate Open Access to research publications a reality, and is built around the Plan S principles. UKRI will consider outcomes of the work of cOAlition S as part of its ongoing Open Access Review alongside other evidence and inputs. The outcomes of the review will determine decisions on UKRI’s OA policy.
As part of the UKRI open access review, UKRI is working with BEIS to consider implications for stakeholders. UKRI has commissioned an independent analysis to help assess the possible implications for various groups, including higher education institutions. This analysis will include direct costs and benefits and wider social and economic implications, and will be considered alongside other evidence gathered through the review, including via the consultation on a proposed UKRI policy which has recently closed. The consideration of the COVID-19 impacts on research sector, including economic implications, will be taken into account in the UKRI review.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the UK Research and Innovation’s review of Open Access policy will be considered as part of the work undertaken by the Department’s research sustainability taskforce.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s university research sustainability taskforce is examining how best to respond to the challenges for the sector resulting from COVID-19, with the aim of sustaining the university research base and its capability to contribute effectively to UK society and economy in the recovery from COVID-19 and beyond. Given the broader focus and urgency of addressing the impacts of COVID-19, at this time, the outcome of the UKRI Open Access Review does not form part of the taskforce's consideration.
The OA Review is independent from Plan S. Working internationally however, is important to help achieve open access. UKRI has joined cOAlition S, a consortium comprising research funders and foundations from across the world and supported by the European Commission and the European Research Council. The coalition aims to help make full and immediate Open Access to research publications a reality, and is built around the Plan S principles. UKRI will consider outcomes of the work of cOAlition S as part of its ongoing Open Access Review alongside other evidence and inputs. The outcomes of the review will determine decisions on UKRI’s OA policy.
As part of the UKRI open access review, UKRI is working with BEIS to consider implications for stakeholders. UKRI has commissioned an independent analysis to help assess the possible implications for various groups, including higher education institutions. This analysis will include direct costs and benefits and wider social and economic implications, and will be considered alongside other evidence gathered through the review, including via the consultation on a proposed UKRI policy which has recently closed. The consideration of the COVID-19 impacts on research sector, including economic implications, will be taken into account in the UKRI review.