Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what provisions in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 protect performers from the unauthorised reproduction of their performance using artificial intelligence systems; and whether it his Department's policy that artificial intelligence-made performance synthetisation are deemed to reproduce the recording of a performance.
Answered by George Freeman
Actors’ and musicians’ performances are protected under Part II of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Sections 182 and 182A of the Act give performers the right to control who is able to record and make reproductions of their performances. These provisions apply regardless of the technology used to make such reproductions, including AI technology. Whether an AI-made synthetisation has reproduced the recording of a performance will depend on the circumstances of each case.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a person who left a property in Northern Ireland after 2nd January, and moved to a new property before 16th January can receive the single payment under the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Alternative Fuel Payment in their new property.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The qualifying date to receive the £600 payment from the Government under the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Alternative Fuel payment is 08:00 2 January 2023. Customers of electricity suppliers who had an account at this point will receive the payment.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 issue guidance on how the single payment made under the Energy Bills Support Scheme Northern Ireland and the Alternative Fuel Payment scheme to houses in multiple occupation should be distributed to the occupants of those dwellings.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bills Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment, which together total £600, is being paid to households with a domestic electricity meter. Payments are not made per occupant of a property. The Government has introduced regulations requiring intermediaries, including landlords, to pass through the Energy Bill Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the context of the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Alternative Fuel Payment in Northern Ireland, if his Department will take steps to issue guidance on best practice for people who purchase electricity from a landlord.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bills Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment, which together total £600, is being paid to households with a domestic electricity meter. Payments are not made per occupant of a property. The Government has introduced regulations requiring intermediaries, including landlords, to pass through the Energy Bill Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether hostel occupants who pay service charges for energy are entitled to the single payment under the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Alternative Fuel Payment scheme; and whether hostels will receive a single payment for each occupant.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bills Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment, which together total £600, is being paid to households with a domestic electricity meter. Payments are not made per occupant of a property. The Government has introduced regulations requiring intermediaries, including landlords, to pass through the Energy Bill Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Energy Bill Relief Scheme beyond 31 March 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The HM Treasury review into the Energy Bill Relief Scheme has announced that a new energy scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector will run from April 2023 until March 2024. The Energy Bill Discount Scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 (a) tackle exploitation and (b) improve sustainability in the UK garment supply chain sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In 2015 we introduced the Modern Slavery Act which requires businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to publish an annual modern slavery statement stating the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. Since October 2020, a wide group of stakeholders comprising retailers, manufacturers and non-profit organisations have been working with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority under the Apparel and General Merchandise Public Private Protocol to address poor working, pay, and purchasing practices in the UK supply chain.
The Government is committed to reducing waste and improving sustainability in the UK textiles industry, which is why textiles was identified as a priority waste stream in the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy for England. In 2021 Defra funded WRAP’s new ambitious voluntary programme, Textiles 2030. Signatories represent over 62% of all clothing placed on the UK market and commit to ambitious, science-based targets including a 50% reduction in carbon footprint of new products and 30% reduction in water footprint, both by 2030.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 provide support to domestic users of home heating oil; and if he will set out plans for providing that support before 9 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Households not on standard gas or electricity contracts, such as those off-grid, will receive equivalent support to that provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, and the Energy Price Guarantee. The Government is working to determine the most practical and tested routes to deliver this support. For households who do not use gas for domestic heating, the Government has committed to provide an additional payment of £100 to compensate for the rising costs of other fuels, such as heating oil.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 is taking to support households reliant on liquefied petroleum gas.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Households reliant on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) will receive the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP). The AFP will provide a one-off payment to UK households that use alternative fuels for heating such as LPG.
This £100 payment will ensure that all households who do not benefit through the Energy Price Guarantee to heat their homes, receive support for the cost of the fuel they do use.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 Ofgem consultation document entitled RIIO-ED2 Draft Determinations, Overview Document, published on 29 June 2022, if he will hold discussions with Ofgem on its proposals for (a) quality of supply capital funding and (b) the Interruptions Incentive Scheme, in the context of the recommendations made for a net zero energy system in his Department's paper entitled Electricity networks strategic framework, published on 4 August 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government regularly engages with Ofgem as it carries out its role setting the price control framework to regulate electricity network companies.