Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has had any discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential role of Cornwall as a lithium hub for the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
As part of development of the Critical Minerals Strategy, and working alongside the Department of International Trade, BEIS has identified the important role Cornwall can play in lithium extraction for the UK.
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have visited Cornish Lithium and British Lithium, who are looking to expand activities around lithium within Cornwall.
Cornish Lithium received investment for the construction of Europe’s first geothermal lithium recovery pilot plant at a location near Redruth, through the Government's Getting Building Fund.
British Lithium Ltd, based in St Austell, is one of the first companies in the world to progress commercial extraction of lithium carbonate from the mica in granite. They have been awarded more than £2.9m from the Government’s Sustainable Innovation Fund.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) his Department has engaged with global anode producers and (b) the Government has plans for anode production in the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Department routinely engages with producers of strategically important components for electric vehicles, including anodes and other battery materials. In 2020, the Government announced £500m to establish an Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), to support the development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain, including anode production in the UK.
As part of the Net Zero Strategy, in October 2021, Government announced a further £350m to be delivered through the ATF over the next three years to ensure that the UK maximises the benefits from the transition to a zero emission vehicle future and support tens of thousands of high-quality green jobs across the UK.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
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 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, what steps his Department is taking to help deliver the strategy to increase domestic extraction and production of critical minerals.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government will publish a UK Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022. This will include steps to create an enabling environment for the domestic extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals. It can also support the production of key components, like batteries.
Funding, such as the Automotive Transformation Fund, National Security Strategic Investment Fund, UK Infrastructure Bank, UK Export Finance, and the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme, can support investments at various points along the critical minerals value chain in specific sectors, like the automotive industry. For example, Cornish Lithium has received support via the Getting Building Fund (2020) and Automotive Transformation Fund (2021). British Lithium has received grant funding from Innovate UK (2020) and the Sustainable Innovation Fund (2021).
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government has taken to help secure the necessary battery metals needed for the electric vehicle sector.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government will publish a UK Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022. This will include steps to create an enabling environment for the domestic extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals. It can also support the production of key components, like batteries.
Funding, such as the Automotive Transformation Fund, National Security Strategic Investment Fund, UK Infrastructure Bank, UK Export Finance, and the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme, can support investments at various points along the critical minerals value chain in specific sectors, like the automotive industry. For example, Cornish Lithium has received support via the Getting Building Fund (2020) and Automotive Transformation Fund (2021). British Lithium has received grant funding from Innovate UK (2020) and the Sustainable Innovation Fund (2021).
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and fully contributing to the UK achieving its legal Commitment to be Net Zero by 2050. Indeed, MOD has halved its carbon emissions since 2010.
We are seeking to further drive down direct emissions, invest in renewables and embed energy efficiency measures but we must also ensure we preserve our Operational Capabilities.
The Department's current progress on reducing emissions has been published in Annex D of MOD's Annual Report and Accounts published on Gov.uk.
MOD's Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach sets our wider climate adaptation and resilience ambitions. Recent progress against the ambitions can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement (HLWS120) which I released to the House on 21 June 2022.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to publish further details on the Faith New Deal Pilot Fund, including award decisions.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Faith New Deal Pilot Fund will provide £1,000,000 to support Faith groups deliver innovative partnership projects. We received a high number of applications following the launch of the scheme late last year. Once the assessment process has fully concluded, we will announce the outcome and inform successful applicants in due course.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps the Government is taking to help level up communities across Scotland.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
UK Government investment which contributes to levelling up has already provided enormous benefit to Scotland with a total investment of over £2 billion.
This includes the £211m UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the £1.5bn City and Regional Growth Deals, across all parts of Scotland and for the Glasgow City Region, a share of £100m has been awarded for an Innovation Accelerator, one of three in the UK.
This is only the beginning, the levelling up fund and community ownership fund are ongoing and along with the community renewal fund, 68 projects have already received funding worth over £190m in Scotland.
We are focused on boosting pay and jobs, spreading opportunities and restoring a sense of pride in place by empowering local leaders and communities across Scotland.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on the implementation of the Home Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Following intensive development work and stakeholder engagement over the past few months, the Department is now finalising the scheme design, and subject to final business case approvals we intend to launch the scheme soon.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Shipbuilding Office will maximise opportunities for work for UK shipyards in future public procurement competitions.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) sets out the 30-year cross-Government shipbuilding pipeline. The National Shipbuilding Office (NSO) will seek to maximise the opportunity for UK industry in this pipeline, in accordance with our international obligations, including by championing UK shipbuilding and ensuring that our procurements deliver on the policy objectives set out in the NSbS. The NSbS also recognises that the value of the shipbuilding sector goes well beyond building hulls and is spread throughout the entire supporting supply chain. The NSO will therefore work to encourage UK content for all parts of the shipbuilding enterprise.
Lastly, for all cross-Government shipbuilding competitions, the Government has set out a clear commitments to delivering on social value. This could include the extent to which they support skills development or supply chain resilience.
Asked by: Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which nations her Department has held discussions with on critical minerals.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital to achieving our net zero ambitions. We work with our international partners to strengthen all critical supply chains as we seek to improve our national security and economic resilience. We have committed to publishing a Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022, which will set out how we can work internationally to secure the sustainability of Britain’s supply. In advance of that strategy, we are engaging with our international partners, and in multilateral fora, to build resilient and sustainable critical mineral supply chains.