Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
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 meet with representatives from the maritime sector to discuss the potential impact of rising energy costs on the sector and its ability to ensure that critical supply chains remain operational.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
I will be meeting with representatives from the maritime sector for a general introduction in the coming few weeks.
The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. A review of the scheme, to be published in three months, will identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs after the initial six months.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps plans to take to support businesses with increased energy costs in 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The details of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme were announced on 21 September 2022. The scheme will initially run for 6 months covering energy use from 1st October 2022 until 31st March 2023.
The Government will publish a review of the scheme in 3 months, which will consider how best to offer further support to customers who are the most vulnerable to energy price increases. These are likely to be those who are least able to adjust, for example by reducing energy usage or increasing energy efficiency. Continuing support to those deemed eligible would begin at the end of the initial 6-month support scheme, without a gap.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
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 recent announcement of Government plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000, what estimate he has made of the likely reduction in the number of staff in his Department located in Dunfermline and West Fife constituency as a result of those plans.
Answered by George Freeman
The Department does not have any civil servants with a contractual work location within the Dunfermline and West Fife constituency.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects the First-tier Tribunals for Green Deal scheme complaints to be concluded.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is unable to anticipate when the appeals currently with the First Tier Tribunal will be completed, as the Tribunal is outside the control of the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Transport on the decarbonisation of the maritime industry.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government recognises the importance of bringing together co-ordinated policy action across all departments, to achieve net zero. Two cabinet committees have been established, chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. These Committees are turbo-charging the net zero transition and co-ordinating action across government.
In 2019 we published our Clean Maritime Plan, the UK’s pathway to zero emissions shipping. It identifies ways to tackle air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions while securing growth and placing the UK at the forefront of the global transition to clean shipping. Implementation of the plan is underway. We have funded two competitions for early stage innovation projects in clean maritime, run a study to identify and support potential UK zero emission shipping clusters and supported the establishment of Marine Emissions Regulations advisory Service and the Maritime Research and Innovation UK (MarRI-UK) initative.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
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 support research at universities across the UK.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
On 27 June, the Government announced a package of support for UK universities to ensure that the university research base can fully contribute to the UK recovery and our economy in the longer-term. The University Research Stabilisation package will give greater job protection to thousands of researchers, scientists and technicians working at UK universities, and will enable universities facing potential decline in income for research as a result of COVID-19 to continue their research and innovation activities.
Around £280 million of UK government investment will be made immediately available to support researchers’ salaries and other costs such as laboratory equipment and fieldwork. This includes £200m of new funding, together with upto £80 million of existing funding from UK Research & Innovation (which is being freed-up from likely grant underspends for redistribution to support R&D in our universities). From the Autumn, UK Government will provide a package for universities across the UK consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants, to cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 2020/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity. Universities will need to demonstrate how these funds are being utilised to sustain research in areas typically funded by charities and business.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when a permanent Small Business Commissioner will be appointed.
Answered by Paul Scully
Officials expect to launch an open recruitment campaign in due course to appoint a permanent Small Business Commissioner.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many late payment cases the Small Business Commissioner has successfully tackled in each year since the office was created; and what the value of recovered payments has been in each year since its creation.
Answered by Paul Scully
Since its creation in December 2017, the Small Business Commissioner has handled a total of 101 cases and recovered a total of £7,353,234.70, broken down as follows:
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he last met the Secretary of State for Scotland to discuss the safeguarding and promotion of Scottish business.
Answered by Paul Scully
My ministerial colleagues and I are in regular contact with the Office for the Secretary of State for Scotland to discuss the safeguarding and promotion of Scottish business.
In April, my Hon. Friends the Minister for Business and Industry and the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Scotland Office jointly held a webinar with Scottish Council for Development and Industry to discuss the Government’s Covid response to safeguard and support busines in Scotland.
In May, the Minister for Business and Industry also attended the joint Scottish Government and UK Government Ministerial-led Scottish Business Growth Group to discuss support for businesses during Covid and future economic recovery.