Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what communications there were between Ministers or officials of his Department and Katherine Bennett of Airbus in May and June 2018.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Richard Harrington met Katherine Bennett twice during this period, at meetings with other industry representatives. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&publication_type=transparency-data
Officials were in regular communication with Katherine Bennett as is usual through May and June in her various roles – as Airbus’s lead UK representative, a member of the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) Board, Chair of the AGP Aerospace Engagement Working Group, and more recently her leading role in the establishment of the Women in Aerospace and Aviation Charter.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings Ministers or officials of his Department had with representatives of (a) Airbus and (b) BMW at which company announcements relating to the UK leaving the EU were discussed in May and June 2018.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
There were no Ministerial meetings with BMW during May or June. I visited Airbus’ Filton facility with my hon. Friend the Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke on 21 June, but announcements relating to the UK leaving the EU were not discussed.
Although officials met regularly with Airbus and BMW in the normal course of business during May and June, neither company discussed at these meetings their announcements relating to EU Exit ahead of making them. Their announcements were subsequently discussed in meetings between officials and the companies.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with charities to discuss the impact of state aid rules on their work.
Answered by Margot James
Neither my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State, nor I have had discussions with charities about the impact of these rules on their work.
The State aid rules apply to funding given to charities, as they would for any other body, where they are involved in economic activities. The rules are blind as to legal form; rather they are concerned with whether an entity is undertaking economic activities. And equally State aid may be granted legally to charities on the same terms as anyone else if it complies with the rules.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
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 opportunities to reform state aid following the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The Government is aware that the EU negotiating mandate explicitly refers to state aid in the context of any future trade agreement between the EU and UK. This future relationship is subject to negotiation.
While the Government cannot speculate on outcomes at this stage, any future regime will be based on the principles of open and fair markets. As my Right Hon Friend the Prime Minister said in Florence the Government believes “it would be a serious mistake to try to beat other countries’ industries by unfairly subsidising one’s own”.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of small modular nuclear reactors to UK energy supply.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Techno-Economic Assessment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) was commissioned by the Government to help build the evidence base on SMRs. The report has helped the Government assess the contribution SMRs could make to the UK energy supply as well as identifying the benefits and risks of SMR deployment. The Government intends to publish the Techno-Economic Assessment in the autumn.