Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Local Enterprise Partnerships (1) are locally democratically accountable, and (2) are working co-operatively with local authorities.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In order to ensure that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are locally democratically accountable, and work co-operatively with local authorities, the Government requires each LEP to adhere to the National Assurance Framework. The Framework is available to view on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in developing green, low climate emission steel, substituting hydrogen for coking coal; and when is the first steel from this expected to be delivered.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Decarbonising UK industry is a core part of the Government’s ambitious plan for the green industrial revolution. The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, published on 17 March, commits Government to work with the Steel Council to consider the implications of the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035’. The Steel Council offers the forum for Government, industry and trade unions to work in partnership on the shared objective of creating an achievable, long-term plan to support the sector’s transition to a competitive, sustainable and low carbon future. Hydrogen-based steelmaking, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), and electrification are some of the technological approaches being examined as part of this process.
The UK steel sector will be given the opportunity to bid into industrial fuel switching innovation programmes under the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which is intended to promote switching away from more carbon-intensive fuel sources. The Government has also announced a £250 million Clean Steel Fund to support the UK steel sector to transition to lower carbon iron and steel production, through investment in new technologies and processes.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the recycling of used steel within the UK, including but not limited to using renewable energy for that purpose.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has a strong domestic recycling market and currently retrieves 11.3 million tonnes of steel scrap per year through regulations such as end-of-life vehicles (ELV) and construction site waste management plans. Of this, around 2.6 million tonnes are currently recycled (melted in a steel plant or cast metals facility) domestically.
The Government published a report, undertaken by the University of Warwick in February 2021, entitled ‘Domestic Scrap Steel Recycling – Economic, Environmental and Social Opportunities’ which assesses long-term options for action to improve recycling rates of steel in the UK. The Government is currently considering the recommendations made in the report.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of the Scotland Office Minister David Duguid on 16 August, what plans they have to deliver a programme of retaining oil from the Cambo oil field in barrels; what such a programme would cost; and what long-term environmental impacts have been identified.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No decision has yet been taken by regulators, the Oil and Gas Authority and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, on the request for approval for the Cambo field to proceed to production.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the Heat and Buildings Strategy 2021.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course. The strategy will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings, as well as our approach to the key strategic decisions needed to achieve a mass transition to low-carbon heat.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take in response to the report by the TUC Ranking G7 Green Recovery Plans and jobs, published on 2 June.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under UK leadership at the G7, we have put Green Recovery from COVID-19 at the top of the international agenda and secured historic commitments such as the first ever ‘net zero G7’, with all countries committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The G7 agreed to phase out new direct government support for fossil fuel energy projects internationally, following a leading commitment made by the UK in December, and G7 members will end all new direct government support for unabated international thermal coal power generation by the end of 2021.
In order to deliver this, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan brings together £12 billion of government investment to unlock three times as much private sector investment by 2030; and support up to 250,000 jobs across the UK by 2030. On top of this, schemes such as the Contracts for Difference (CfD) incentivise investment. Up to £557m of annual support for future Contracts for Difference has been committed, providing renewables developers with the confidence they need to invest in bringing forward new projects.
We will build on this even further and deliver a stronger, greener, more sustainable economy after this pandemic. We have started with the Energy White Paper and Industrial Decarbonisation Plan, and we will continue to set out further measures as in the run up to COP26, including publishing our Net Zero Strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that palaeographic genetic data is kept in the public domain.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Her Majesty’s Government supports the management of and access to research data, so that it can be widely used for research and innovation. The UK Research and Development Roadmap (copy attached) published last year emphasised the importance of data and open research.
The UK enjoys a well-established infrastructure and policy framework for good research data management and access, covering multiple disciplines, including national data centres such as the National Geosciences Data Centre. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s largest public research funder, requires those in receipt of funding from Research Councils to ensure “that all parties engaged in the research make every reasonable effort to ensure that intellectual assets obtained in the course of the research, whether protected by intellectual property rights or not, are used for the benefit of society and the economy”.
UKRI and its Research Councils have policies that set out expectations and guidance on sharing and managing research data. It has a common set of principles on research data, including that publicly funded research data are a public good, produced in the public interest, which should be made openly available with as few restrictions as possible in a responsible manner. UKRI in partnership with research organisations developed the Concordat on Open Research Data to ensure that the research data gathered and generated by members of the UK research community is made available for use by others wherever possible.
UKRI work closely with international bodies to enable global sharing and access to data in the interest of the economy and society. Recently the OECD’s Recommendation on Access to Research Data from Public Funding was updated and this will guide further policy and support in the UK as well as across all OECD members.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to supporting the call by the European Commission and others for a moratorium on deep sea mining.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is no deep sea mining currently happening in areas beyond national jurisdictions, there are no exploitation licences for deep sea mining, and no exploitation regulations have yet been agreed. Any mining licenced under future regulations is unlikely to begin for several years. In addition, the UK has committed not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems and strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards have been developed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and are in place.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it is the role of the ISA to regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area for the benefit of mankind as a whole. In so doing, the ISA has the duty to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects that may arise from deep seabed activities.
The UK has a strong and respected voice in these international negotiations and the UK position emphasises the need to ensure that the highest possible environmental standards are met in the development of this new industry. We judge that engaging fully with these negotiations is the most effective way for the UK to work with others so that no deep sea mining takes place in the absence of strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards. This includes requiring that Regional Environmental Management Plans are adopted for each region before any exploitation licence can even be considered, as well as the adoption of strong and enforceable environmental Standards as well as Guidelines.
Finally, on terminology, we note that the European Commission, in its recent sustainable blue economy strategy, has not made reference to a moratorium, but has set out that “In international negotiations, the EU should advocate that marine minerals in the international seabed area cannot be exploited before the effects of deep-sea mining on the marine environment, biodiversity and human activities have been sufficiently researched, the risks are understood and the technologies and operational practices are able to demonstrate no serious harm to the environment.” We understand from the statement that the outcomes we and the Commission are arguing for are essentially the same, that no deep sea mining should take place in the absence of strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the landing of a Chinese rover on Mars; and what plans they have, if any, to support the 1979 Moon Agreement, and in particular its principle that the resources of space should not be appropriated by any commercial or state interest.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Her Majesty’s Government has noted with interest the successful landing of the Zhurong rover on Mars and we welcome the increased scientific research and understanding of Mars that it will enable.
Her Majesty’s Government is not a signatory to the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies; therefore, its principles do not apply to the United Kingdom.
However, the Government continues to support the principle that all nations operating rovers on Mars and other celestial bodies abide by the provisions of the UN Outer Space Treaty. The UK actively participates in the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Subcommittees to define best practice and associated guidelines.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Callanan on 15 February (HL12862) and 23 February (HL13155), what is the average time for individual payments for each of the final two stages of delivery of Green Homes Grant funds; and what is the longest time it has taken to complete individual payments for each stage.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The scheme administrator is prioritising the payment of the vouchers and we are continuing to see an increase in the number of vouchers being paid out to installers once work is complete.