Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 policy paper entitled The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, what progress he has made on the delivery of increased offshore wind capacity.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In November 2020, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution committed to deploying 40 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 (including 1GW of floating offshore wind). It also announced £160m of support for offshore wind coastal manufacturing infrastructure across the whole of the UK to support this deployment programme.
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has been very successful in delivering large-scale renewable generation whilst reducing costs through competitive allocation rounds. The next round will open in December 2021 and aims to deliver up to double the renewable capacity of last year’s successful round, potentially providing enough clean energy for up to 10 million homes. The allocation round will be open to floating offshore wind projects and both The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland are taking forward plans for seabed leasing rounds for future floating wind projects.
In February 2021, the Department announced up to £95 million of government investment for two new offshore wind port hubs, to be constructed on Humberside and Teesside. The support for the Teesworks Offshore Manufacturing Centre and the Able Marine Energy Park will help to level up the UK economy, bring in new investment, create high-skilled jobs, and provide new opportunities in ports and the areas around them.
In addition, in the Budget 2021 my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government would provide £27 million, subject to business case, for the Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone, helping to support North East Scotland to play a leading role in meeting the UK’s net zero ambitions.
Furthermore, GE Renewable Energy announced an investment in a major new offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing plant, the first investment at the Teesworks Offshore Manufacturing Centre. This brand-new manufacturing facility could create 750 direct renewable energy jobs and close to 1,500 indirect jobs in the area.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 critical minerals the UK will require to (a) power every house via wind turbines by 2030, (b) ensure all cars sold in the UK are electric by 2035 and (c) develop industrial rare earth magnets in the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry provides a critical source of renewable energy for our growing economy. As set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial revolution we will quadruple our offshore wind capacity by 2030 to further decarbonise our electricity to power our homes and businesses, and create high-quality green jobs by investing in our ports and coastal regions. Critical minerals will be important in developing offshore wind and coordinated work is taking place across Whitehall departments to ensure there continues to be a secure, long-term supply chain.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre has published analysis identifying opportunities for UK suppliers from the electrification of passenger vehicles over the coming 5 years (https://www.apcuk.co.uk/app/uploads/2020/06/APC-Passenger-car-electrification-report-online-v1.pdf, June 2020).
Our priority is to ensure that the UK continues to enjoy the benefits from our transition to ultra low and zero emission vehicles by continuing to build an agile, innovative and cost-competitive supply chain. With that in mind, we remain committed to securing UK battery manufacturing. As part of the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan, we have already announced £500 million to support the electrification of vehicles and their supply chains, and other strategically important technologies, through the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next four years. We continue to work with investors through the Automotive Transformation Fund, and to progress plans for manufacturing the batteries that we will need for the next generation of electric vehicles here in the UK.
The Government’s Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge is investing £80 million in electrification technologies including power electronics, electric machines and drives (PEMD), providing support for innovation and targeted investment to support development. This includes projects relating to the recovery and recycling of rare earth elements, and activities to facilitate the development of rare earth magnet supply chains in the UK.
BEIS is also supporting innovation in this area, and for example is providing innovation support to Greenspur, a company based in Hertfordshire, to trial a new type of magnet – which does not use rare earth minerals - at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 domestic critical minerals supply, with specific regard to (a) mineral rights and (b) planning applications.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is supporting opportunities to secure the domestic extraction of critical materials, such as lithium. For example, we are supporting Cornish Lithium and Geothermal Engineering, who are collaborating to build a zero-carbon lithium extraction pilot plant at an existing site in Cornwall.
The UK is also playing a crucial role in ensuring that strong environmental standards are upheld in the growing deep sea mining industry, to ensure that the International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulatory regime effectively protects these ecosystems for years to come.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that it is essential that there is a sufficient supply of minerals to provide the infrastructure, buildings, energy and goods that the country needs. The NPPF states that mineral planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals, including by encouraging safeguarding or stockpiling so that important minerals remain available for use. The NPPF states that when determining planning applications, great weight should be given to the benefits of mineral extraction, including to the economy.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much has been paid out to hospitality businesses by local authorities under the Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment scheme since 5 January 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has put forward an unprecedented package of support to help businesses which are severely affected by restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. This package of support includes the Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment (CBLP) which was established in response to the national restrictions that began on 5 January. Through the CBLP, businesses that have been mandated to close by Government, such as non-essential retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, can receive a one-off cash grant of up to £9,000 to support them through to spring.
We are working closely with all Local Authorities in England to deliver funding to businesses that are in scope of this scheme as quickly as possible, while safeguarding public funds.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 updated coronavirus restrictions from 1 October 2020, what proportion of grants have been paid out by local authorities to hospitality businesses under the (a) Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) and (b) Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed).
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has put forward an unprecedented package of support to help businesses which are severely affected by restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. This includes extensive grant funding for businesses that have had to close due to national and localised restrictions, as well as funding for businesses severely impacted by restrictions even if not required to close. The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed and Open), which applies to businesses mandated by Government to close alongside businesses that can open during periods of localised restrictions, is incorporated within this funding.
The LRSG (Open) grant programme does not apply during the national restrictions that began on 5 January. The relevant businesses will instead receive grant support through the LRSG (Closed) Addendum: 5 January onwards. The LRSG (Closed) is also superseded by the LRSG (Closed) Addendum: 5 January onwards. We are working closely with Local Authorities to ensure that funding is delivered to businesses that are in scope of these schemes as quickly as possible, while safeguarding public funds.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure local authorities are able to effectively pay coronavirus support grants to hospitality businesses under existing schemes.
Answered by Paul Scully
Hospitality businesses are currently required to close due to the legal restrictions that have been put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. Closed businesses will be eligible for grants of up to £4,500 per 6-week period of closure plus an additional one-off payment of up to £9,000 via local authorities.
In addition to these mandatory grants for closed businesses, £1.6bn has been allocated to local authorities in discretionary funding allowing them to provide grants to businesses that are not required to close but which are severely impacted.
There has been close engagement with the local government sector throughout the design and implementation of grant support for businesses during the local and national Covid-19 restrictions.
Full guidance to local authorities has been published in respect of all grant schemes, as have several iterations of FAQs picking up on issues raised by local authorities.
The Government is committed to meeting the additional New Burdens costs to local authorities. Financial support has started to be provided through some of the grant schemes. A further New Burdens assessment is currently underway and we will provide the additional funding to local authorities at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what data his Department is (a) collecting and (b) making available on the issuing of coronavirus support grants to the hospitality sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
Between March and September last year, over £11.68 billion was paid out to over a million business premises under the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF), the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF) and the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund (LADGF). A full breakdown of grant funding allocated to and distributed by each local authority is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.
We have since made further grant support available via Local Authorities to help businesses that have had to close due to national and localised restrictions, as well as funding for businesses severely impacted by restrictions even if not required to close. This includes the Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment (CBLP), the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), and the different Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) schemes. More details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19#support-for-businesses-affected-by-coronavirus-restrictions.
We are not able to share a full breakdown of the funding allocated and distributed by each Local Authority under these new schemes at this stage.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
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 his department's guidance, Check if your business is eligible for a coronavirus grant due to national restrictions (for closed businesses), updated on 21 January 2021, when he plans to publish further guidance on subsidy rules which may affect hospitality businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
The EU State Aid rules and limits no longer apply in the UK, except in respect of aid in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Subsidies must instead meet the terms of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement as well as the other Free Trade Agreements we have reached with the rest of the world and our WTO commitments.
Existing guidance for Covid-19 Business Support grants which references pre-existing EU State Aid limits have been rolled forward until such point as a new domestic subsidy approach is agreed. The government is currently consulting on its proposed approach for establishing a bespoke UK-wide subsidy control regime.
The government is keeping under close review the impact of subsidy control rules on the ability of businesses in the hospitality sector to access grants, and will publish new guidance as and when circumstances require it.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the maritime industry on that industry's role in supporting the Government's targets for increasing offshore wind production.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
On 6 October, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the Government is increasing its 2030 offshore wind ambition from 30GW to 40GW, including a new ambition of 1GW of floating offshore wind and that £160 million will be made available to upgrade ports and infrastructure.
This increase in offshore wind capacity over the next decade will ensure the UK remains the biggest market in the world and represents an opportunity for companies across the UK, including those in the maritime sector.
The Department has regular engagement with the maritime sector.
Asked by: Steve Double (Conservative - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department has a single individual who is responsible for leading her Department's application of the Family Test.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Each department has a Family Test lead who is part of our Family Test Network. This Network is the central forum through which we have sought input and comments on the support departments need to help with Family Test implementation.
This includes Network members feeding into improvements to the existing guidance for officials in all departments on Family Test implementation.