Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
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 has taken to provide (a) financial and (b) other support to people running community energy schemes in Ogmore constituency in the last five years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Community energy schemes within Wales have access to support from the Welsh Government.
Ofgem supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.
The Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals through UK-wide growth funding schemes. The Government also encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.
Given the level of support already available, the Government has no plans to take further steps to introduce financial incentives for community energy at this time.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish his recent correspondence with industry leaders on the use of low-carbon generators.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government engages with industry leaders on a range of issues, including energy security and net zero. It is not Government policy to publish Ministerial correspondence.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps he will take what Cabinet colleagues to support people made redundant by the closure of Jehu Group.
Answered by David T C Davies
I am sorry to hear that the Jehu Group, based in Bridgend with a long history in South Wales, has gone into liquidation. An Official Receiver has been appointed to oversee the winding up of the business.
We offered immediate support for the 106 people who have been made redundant to date through the Department of Work and Pensions Rapid Response Service. A team from the Bridgend Job Centre, working alongside Careers Wales, visited the company the day the closure was announced, and they have offered one-to-one advice and support to all those affected.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on steps to promote the integration of minority communities in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies
I was appointed Secretary of State for Wales on Tuesday 25 October. I intend to have a series of meetings with Cabinet colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities to discuss a variety of issues that are of importance to both Wales and the UK.
As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, I was delighted to visit the Butetown community centre in Cardiff and saw first-hand the great work they are doing with the funding received from the Windrush Community Fund.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential lost revenue in TV licensing fines if non-payment prosecutions were paused during the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, not the government. The Government is therefore not involved in TV Licensing operations. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is responsible for collecting and enforcing financial penalties imposed by the courts which includes fines imposed for the non-payment of a TV licence.
In 2021, 49,126 people were proceeded against by HM Courts & Tribunals Service for non-payment of the licence fee, and 44,364 were fined. The BBC has recently confirmed that no enforcement or prosecution action has been taken against over-75s who previously held a free licence and therefore no over-75s have been fined. The Department does not hold data on the amount collected from TV licensing fines and will engage with relevant departments to follow up with this information.
The Government is independent from the BBC, and any decision to suspend enforcement action by TV Licensing, or assessment of the impact of this decision, would be a matter for the BBC. Given the BBC’s independence it would not be appropriate for the government to seek to intervene in operational decisions on enforcement action. Nonetheless, the government expects the BBC to collect the licence fee in an efficient and proportionate manner, and to treat all vulnerable people with sensitivity in doing so.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department collected in TV licensing fines in the last year; and what proportion of that money was from over 75s.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, not the government. The Government is therefore not involved in TV Licensing operations. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is responsible for collecting and enforcing financial penalties imposed by the courts which includes fines imposed for the non-payment of a TV licence.
In 2021, 49,126 people were proceeded against by HM Courts & Tribunals Service for non-payment of the licence fee, and 44,364 were fined. The BBC has recently confirmed that no enforcement or prosecution action has been taken against over-75s who previously held a free licence and therefore no over-75s have been fined. The Department does not hold data on the amount collected from TV licensing fines and will engage with relevant departments to follow up with this information.
The Government is independent from the BBC, and any decision to suspend enforcement action by TV Licensing, or assessment of the impact of this decision, would be a matter for the BBC. Given the BBC’s independence it would not be appropriate for the government to seek to intervene in operational decisions on enforcement action. Nonetheless, the government expects the BBC to collect the licence fee in an efficient and proportionate manner, and to treat all vulnerable people with sensitivity in doing so.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his objectives are for the remainder of the UK’s COP presidency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK hands the COP Presidency to Egypt in a few days time, at COP27. To avoid and respond to the most catastrophic impacts of a changing climate, COP27 must build on commitments made at COP26.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will publish all correspondence with Mark Drakeford on a joint and cooperative plan of action to tackle the cost of living crisis in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies
It would be inappropriate to publish correspondence between my Department and the First Minister’s Office.
My predecessor had multiple exchanges with the First Minister on the cost of living challenge, and I will ensure that such exchanges will continue.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a statutory footing for Gaelic language broadcasting in the forthcoming Media Bill.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government recognises the incredibly valuable contribution MG ALBA makes to the lives and wellbeing of Gaelic speakers across Scotland and the UK as a whole, including through its partnership with the BBC in providing BBC ALBA. This contribution has been made since MG ALBA was originally established as the Gaelic Television Committee under the Broadcasting Act 1990. The current partnership between the BBC and MG ALBA must ensure high quality, diverse Gaelic language content continues to be readily available so that Gaelic culture is protected in the years to come.
As part of the changes described in our Broadcasting White Paper, Up Next, we intend, for the first time, to make the importance of programmes broadcast in the UK’s indigenous regional and minority languages – including the Gaelic language – clear in legislation, by including it in our new public service remit for television. This will enhance the statutory footing that already exists for the Gaelic language.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether members of the expert panel in respect of the Future of compute review receive remuneration.
Answered by Damian Collins
The Future of Compute review was launched on 13 June 2022. It will produce recommendations on the UK’s compute capability over the next decade, and report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The terms of reference can be found on gov.uk, and outline the objectives, outputs and themes that will be covered by the review.
Zoubin Ghahramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and Vice President of Research at Google, was appointed to lead the review. Professor Ghahramani was selected because of his strong credentials in both the applications and fundamentals of computer science, and experience of working in public and private sector capacities.
The lead reviewer will be supported by a panel of experts from across the computing field. These experts will help provide high level oversight and quality assurance of the evidence supporting the final recommendations, similar to the approach taken for previous reviews. Experts were selected to ensure broad expertise in compute applications, including simulation and modelling, and across diverse sections of industry and research communities.
The panellists are:
The lead reviewer and panel members will not receive remuneration.