Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he last assessed that Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton was compliant with the terms of its £5.1million grant from the Regional Growth Fund.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
As the project remains in monitoring until 2022, the Regional Growth Fund team continue to monitor and discuss project developments with WWRD UK Ltd, as they do with all Regional Growth Fund awards.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has reclaimed grant funds from a successful applicant to the Regional Growth Fund that has been found not to comply with the terms of the grant.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Regional Growth Fund awards are monitored to ensure the agreed outcomes of the project are delivered.
Any project being undertaken using investment from the Regional Growth Fund must be delivered in full. If a project fails to deliver on what was first proposed, we would recover the appropriate level of grant payment.
I can confirm that this has happened on some successful Regional Growth Fund awards.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the provisions in the Regional Growth Fund grant to Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton (WWRD) to maintain manufacturing jobs on site and the recent announcement of 103 job losses at WWRD, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that grant award to WWRD.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Regional Growth Fund award to WWRD UK Ltd is monitored for a ten year period until 31 March 2022, as such the Regional Growth Fund team continue to discuss project developments with the Company, as they do with all Regional Growth Fund awards.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
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 has had with Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton on (a) their restructure and (b) the effect of that restructure on (i) the UK ceramics manufacturing sector and (ii) their Regional Growth Fund grant award.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Regional Growth Fund team have been in discussions with WWRD UK Ltd regarding the restructure and the effect of the restructure in relation to the Regional Growth Fund grant award.
Whilst the Global restructuring of WWRD UK Ltd and the associated job losses at the Barlaston facility is disappointing, with a consequential impact on individual employees and the local economy, I understand high end products, design, product development and global marketing of products will continue to be based in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to support an increase in UK-based gas storage.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK consistently has one of the largest and most liquid gas markets in Europe with extensive import infrastructure and a diverse range of gas supply sources. This includes domestic production, pipelines from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands, and liquefied natural gas terminals which can bring in gas from anywhere in the world. We are therefore well placed to manage gas supply risks and the Government has no plans to directly support an increase in UK-based gas storage.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to help reduce the likelihood of the UK experiencing future gas price spikes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
Whilst there is in-year variability in comparisons between UK gas prices and other European states, UK wholesale prices are generally consistent with the EU average.
The UK benefits from a range of supply sources, including indigenous production, imports from Norway and the continent, storage and liquefied natural gas imports, all of which contribute to a diverse and liquid market. However, it is a normal and necessary market response for prices to rise in response to system tightness, driving a responsive and flexible supply response. The Government will continue to monitor our security of gas supply, including price volatility.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of precarious work on the workforce.
Answered by Margot James
Atypical work arrangements, alongside traditional full-time employment, play a valuable role in today’s labour market.
This Government is live to the issues that come with new ways of working.
That is why Matthew Taylor was asked to undertake his independent review of modern employment practices, which is considering job security amongst a range of issues.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will respond to the request for an apology for actions by the UK Government in relation to industrial action at Cammell Laird in 1984 made by the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament in December 2014; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The treatment of the workers in the Cammell Laird case as a result of the industrial action taken and any possible miscarriage of justice is not a matter for the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many miners whose employment with British Coal ended before they reached the age of 50 had their entitlement to concessionary coal reinstated after the introduction of the National Concessionary Fuel Scheme in 2013.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In reference to employees solely employed by British Coal, there are no employees aged under 50 who have been reinstated as part of the 2013 announcement, which related specifically to employees of UK Coal who lost their entitlement following a fire at the company’s Daw Mill colliery in February 2013.
There will be some UK Coal beneficiaries who TUPE transferred from British Coal to UK Coal in 1995 under the age of 50, who continued their entitlements with the new company and then fell under the terms of the 2013 announcement. However, Capita, who administer the concessionary fuel schemes, do not hold this information.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24530, what methodology is used to calculate prices in connection with anti-dumping cases relating to the US and Russia.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The US and Russia are both treated as market economies in anti-dumping investigations by the European Commission. This means that, with some exceptions, dumping is calculated on the basis of prices prevailing in the US and Russian domestic market. The exceptions are set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 (the EU’s basic anti-dumping Regulation) and the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (the “AD agreement”).