Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses that are registered in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency and (b) the North East have used the (i) Help to Grow: Management and (ii) Help to Grow: Digital course in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Help to Grow schemes have supported over 5,000 businesses so far. We will release data on the uptake of the Help to Grow schemes in due course after Help to Grow Digital has closed.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to increase the number of green jobs in Newcastle upon Tyne Central constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is providing significant investment for the offshore renewable and electric vehicle industries across North East England to create high value, highly skilled green jobs for people across the region.
Funding from its Offshore Wine Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme is supporting construction of the new £130m JDR cables factory near Blyth in Northumberland, which will develop and build components for next generation wind turbines, creating 170 jobs. Its £20.9 million Town Deal for Blyth will also establish business-led skills development facilities for the offshore wind sector, providing local people with the skills they need to benefit from those job opportunities.
The Government's Getting Building Fund is supporting construction of Equinor's new Operations and Maintenance base at the Port of Tyne, which will serve the world’s biggest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank. This is expected to generate over 200 direct jobs in the region and provide opportunities for companies at all levels of the supply chain.
Construction has also started on EV 36 Zero – a new £1 billion Electric Vehicle Hub near to Nissan’s Sunderland plant which will create around 1,000 jobs and help accelerate the UK’s journey to carbon neutrality.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
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 help increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Newcastle Central constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Newcastle Central.
The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures.
An additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring the Government can scale up its delivery over time.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency had heat pumps installed as of 1 December 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that, as of 1 December 2022, 84 heat pump installations were registered in the Newcastle Central constituency.
The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, which are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency had external wall insulation installed as of 1 December 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG)government schemes, around 2,000 cavity wall insulation measures, 1,300 loft insulation measures, 700 under floor insulation measures and 46 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Newcastle Central constituency.
Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency had under floor insulation installed as of 1 December 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG)government schemes, around 2,000 cavity wall insulation measures, 1,300 loft insulation measures, 700 under floor insulation measures and 46 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Newcastle Central constituency.
Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency with lofts had loft insulation installed as of 1 December 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG)government schemes, around 2,000 cavity wall insulation measures, 1,300 loft insulation measures, 700 under floor insulation measures and 46 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Newcastle Central constituency.
Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 1 December 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG)government schemes, around 2,000 cavity wall insulation measures, 1,300 loft insulation measures, 700 under floor insulation measures and 46 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Newcastle Central constituency.
Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
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 press release published 14 December 2022 on global science partnership with Japan, which budget this funding has been allocated from.
Answered by George Freeman
The press release announced the launch of the first phase of the new International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF), underpinned by £119m of funding. This is non-ODA funding for R&D-eligible activity, supporting our ambition to spend £20 billion on R&D per annum by 2024/25. The specific collaboration with Japan on neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and dementia is also non-ODA funding for R&D-eligible activity. Relevant funding will count towards the overall spend on dementia research.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to Answer of 7 December to Question101725 on Research: Investment, when the ONS and his Department will (a) complete and (b) release granular regional data on R&D in 2023.
Answered by George Freeman
Precise timings and details for release are a matter for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is an independent body. On 21 September 2022 they said “To aid the delivery of the levelling up agenda, we are also developing statistics showing R&D at a regional level. Producing complex figures at a regional basis can be challenging, so we are exploring innovative techniques to map where R&D is taking place, not simply where expenditure has been allocated. This work will culminate in the publishing of regional Government and business R&D expenditure statistics in early 2023.”