Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she plans to take to incentivise the development of low-carbon cement technologies.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Phase 2 of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) supported projects to develop energy and resource efficiency technology in cement, worth a total of £720,000 in grant funding. Over £13 million in funding has been awarded from UKRI’s Innovate Transforming Foundation Industry Challenge for decarbonisation projects in the cement sector, including over £2.6m to Cemex to look at the valorization of contaminated waste glass to produce low carbon cements at its Rugby plant. The Department for Energy security and Net Zero is also undertaking research to explore barriers and opportunities for the adoption of low carbon, resource efficient materials in the construction sector.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the date by which he will next receive an update on the independent policing productivity review.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Policing Productivity Review was commissioned in August 2020 to produce clear, practical, and deliverable recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing functions. They have provided their report to the Home Office, which has now been published.
The Government welcomes this review and is supportive of any effort to reduce bureaucracy and make it easier for the police to do their jobs. The Home Office is considering each of the recommendations and will engage with relevant stakeholders to respond to the report in due course.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a 50% increase in Administrative Strike Prices; and whether an increase in those Prices applies to all renewable technologies in Allocation Round 6.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government reviews auction parameters, including Administrative Strike Prices, ahead of every Contracts for Difference allocation round. Considering recent price volatility and that no offshore wind technologies were successful in Allocation Round 5, the Government has conducted a thorough review of its cost assumptions ahead of Allocation Round 6. The Government will set parameters that reflect the Contracts for Difference scheme’s objective to encourage low-carbon generation whilst considering net zero commitments, energy security and the likely cost to consumers. Core parameters for Allocation Round 6 will be published in November 2023.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how her Department plans to take into account changes in the level of costs when setting the Administrative Strike Price for renewable technologies in Allocation Round 6 of the Contracts for Difference.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government reviews auction parameters, including Administrative Strike Prices, ahead of every Contracts for Difference allocation round. Considering recent price volatility and that no offshore wind technologies were successful in Allocation Round 5, the Government has conducted a thorough review of its cost assumptions ahead of Allocation Round 6. The Government will set parameters that reflect the Contracts for Difference scheme’s objective to encourage low-carbon generation whilst considering net zero commitments, energy security and the likely cost to consumers. Core parameters for Allocation Round 6 will be published in November 2023.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of all court buildings constructed during the 1990s.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As set out in the answer of 4 September 2023, Official Report, PQ 197380, Departments have been surveying properties and depending on the assessment of the presence of RAAC have decided to either continue to monitor the structure, reinforce it, or replace it. This is in line with the approach recommended by the Institution of Structural Engineers.
At this stage, the Government does not believe it would be in the public interest to pre-empt that process by releasing piecemeal information which may lead to false assumptions about individual court buildings.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase in alcohol duty on (a) economic growth and (b) job creation within the Scotch Whisky industry.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The potential impacts of the recent changes to alcohol duty rates were published at Spring Budget in HMRC’s Tax Information and Impact Note and can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-rate-changes#summary-of-impacts.
This Government is supporting Scotch Whisky. We have provided a series of cuts and freezes to alcohol duties in the past decade. Before Spring Budget 2023, the spirits industry has benefitted from cuts or freezes to spirits duty at eight out of the last nine fiscal events, since the end of the duty escalator for spirits in 2013. The most recent alcohol duty freeze from Autumn Budget 2021, including the extension to 1 August 2023, represented a total tax cut of £2.7 billion over the next four years.
We have also undertaken the biggest reform of alcohol duties in 140 years and moved all alcohol products to being taxed based on their strength, narrowing the gap between spirits and still wine.
Further, we have removed punitive tariffs on Scotch Whisky imposed on the US market and are committed to protecting the interests of Scotch Whisky in trading agreements, ensuring that they face lower tariffs for export, and that the unique characteristics and global reputation of Scotch is protected, as demonstrated recently in our free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, and the CPTPP.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of business preparedness for future controls on the import of (a) food and (b) fresh products from the EU.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following publication of the draft Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) in April 2023, the Government ran a six-week engagement period with industry. The feedback received is reflected in the final BTOM, notably the decision to delay implementation by three months, to January 2024, giving businesses more time to prepare. Before implementation of controls, awareness of and readiness for new controls will be boosted through a series of engagement events. Further guidance will be available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in (a) courts and (b) prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The professional advice from experts on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) has evolved over time, from advice in the 1990s that RAAC did not pose a safety hazard to more recent advice on identifying and assessing structural adequacy. The Government's approach throughout has been to follow the best technical advice. Departments have been surveying properties and depending on the assessment of the RAAC, decided to either continue to monitor the structure, reinforce it, or replace it. This is in line with the approach recommended by the Institution of Structural Engineers
In line with that expert driven approach, we have been working for several months to identify where we have the potential for RAAC to be present across the HMPPS estate. We are commissioning further surveys and assessments across a number of buildings to assess as soon as possible whether RAAC is present and what further action may be required. Mitigation and action plans from those assets containing RAAC will then be put in place.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the extent of the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in police stations.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
My officials continue to work closely with policing partners to assess any safety issues resulting from the life expiry of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
All police forces are aware of the potential risks and have been working alongside industry experts since 2021 to ensure site inspections by qualified building surveyors and condition surveys are conducted. Individual police forces have rightly taken a variety of steps to mitigate any potential issues and ensure everyone’s safety – including vacating buildings, and demolishing or replacing structures where issues have been identified. Where there is any uncertainty forces are conducting prompt further investigations
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the employer-provided living accommodation tax exemptions and the potential impact of geographical location on the application of those exemptions.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Where an employer provides living accommodation to an employee and it is not within the scope of any exemptions, the cost of providing that accommodation will be taxable as a benefit-in-kind.
The tax rules for employer provided accommodation apply to the whole of the UK and are consistent across different employers. This ensures the UK tax system is simple, easy to understand, and limits the risk of abuse.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.