Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage growth of community energy projects.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has received the Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) report into community energy, which makes several recommendations to government.
In order to support community energy projects, the Government funds the Rural Community Energy Fund. The £10 million scheme supports rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects, which provide economic and social benefits to their community. We also continue to work with Community Energy England to share best practice within the sector, so less experienced communities can learn from those already operating.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of returning postal services into public ownership to ensure profits are reinvested into the service, in the context of Royal Mail’s announcement of a £400m payout to shareholders.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has no plans to renationalise Royal Mail. Operational and commercial decisions are a matter for the company’s management.
One of the primary reasons for the sale was to enable Royal Mail to access the capital it needed to invest in and grow the business.
Royal Mail has invested £2 billion in the firm since privatisation, with a further £1.8 billion investment in the UK’s postal service announced in 2019 to transform and grow the UK business.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the level of Royal Mail’s (a) recent investment in mail delivery services and (b) £400m payout to shareholders.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has no plans to renationalise Royal Mail. Operational and commercial decisions are a matter for the company’s management.
One of the primary reasons for the sale was to enable Royal Mail to access the capital it needed to invest in and grow the business.
Royal Mail has invested £2 billion in the firm since privatisation, with a further £1.8 billion investment in the UK’s postal service announced in 2019 to transform and grow the UK business.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 no eligible prize holders having applied for the Home Office's fast-track Global Talent visa in the first six months of that scheme, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK attracts talented academics and researchers at all stages of their careers.
Answered by George Freeman
The prize route is just one option under our Global Talent route, through which Home Office have received thousands of applications since its launch in February 2020, and this number continues to rise.
The Government is committed to making the UK the most exciting destination in the world for scientists, researchers, and innovators. The Government will continue to improve our approach to attracting global talent to the UK through the Office for Talent, and by reviewing our talent offer to make sure that our programmes are among the best and most attractive in the world.
The Government continues to work closely with the science and research sector to ensure the UK immigration system is closely aligned to the sector’s needs.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 no eligible prize holders having applied for the Home Office's fast-track Global Talent visa in the first six months of that scheme, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK attracts talented scientists at all stages of their careers.
Answered by George Freeman
The prize route is just one option under our Global Talent route, through which Home Office have received thousands of applications since its launch in February 2020, and this number continues to rise.
The Government is committed to making the UK the most exciting destination in the world for scientists, researchers, and innovators. The Government will continue to improve our approach to attracting global talent to the UK through the Office for Talent, and by reviewing our talent offer to make sure that our programmes are among the best and most attractive in the world.
The Government continues to work closely with the science and research sector to ensure the UK immigration system is closely aligned to the sector’s needs.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 effectiveness of Royal Mail services in south London; and what steps he is taking to ensure that Royal Mail improves services disrupted by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
Royal Mail is a fully private business. The Government has no role in its operational or commercial decisions.
The Government sets the minimum requirements and service standards for the UK postal service in the Postal Services Act 2011 which designates the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as the independent regulator for the sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.
Ofcom has a duty to ensure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service. It monitors Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets, taking account of all relevant factors.
Ofcom’s statement declaring the Covid-19 pandemic an emergency regulatory period under the Postal Services Act 2011, and therefore removing the regulatory conditions placed on Royal Mail, ended on 31 August 2021. Ofcom has stated that it continues to take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to compliance monitoring taking account of any relevant matters beyond Royal Mail’s control that impact on its performance, including any continuing impacts of the pandemic.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 is holding with the CEO of Royal Mail regarding current service standards for the delivery of letters, in the context of Royal Mail’s announcement of a £400 million payout to shareholders.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a range of issues although, as a fully private business, its operational and commercial decisions are a matter for the company’s management.
Ofcom has a duty to ensure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service. It monitors Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets as appropriate, taking account of all relevant factors.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Universal Service Obligation for letters is being met consistently, in the context of Royal Mail’s announcement of a £400 million payout to shareholders.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has no role in operational or commercial decisions by Royal Mail which is a fully private business.
The Government sets the minimum requirements and service standards for the UK postal service in the Postal Services Act 2011 which designates the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as the independent regulator for the sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.
Ofcom has a duty to ensure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service. It monitors Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its performance targets, taking account of all relevant factors.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 paper by Chatham House and Woodwell Climate Research Center, published on 14 October 2021, what steps he is taking to help reduce the use of biomass for energy production and to increase the use of renewable sources, including wind and solar power, in the context of the finding that treating biomass from forests as a zero-carbon fuel risks not being in line with the Paris Agreement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Sustainable biomass has played a vital role in the UK’s decarbonisation efforts to date and is an important part of the UK’s renewable energy mix. The Government recognises the need to ensure that biomass is prioritised where it brings about GHG emission reductions in hard to decarbonise sectors without other viable alternatives. The CCC and the National Grid’s 2020 Future Energy Scenarios indicated that it is not possible to achieve net zero without Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The Government has committed to establishing the role that BECCS could play in reducing carbon emissions across the economy.
The Government will continue to support a diversity of renewable technologies including wind and solar, through the Contracts for Difference scheme. The next allocation round will open in December 2021, with a draft budget of £265 million. In the Net Zero Strategy, the Government has committed to a sustained increase in the deployment of renewable generation technologies, such as solar and onshore wind in the 2020s and beyond, and to deliver 40GW from offshore wind by 2030.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
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 (a) potential effect of subsidies given to companies burning biomass for power generation on the UK's carbon emissions and (b) potential merits of redirecting that funding to more renewable sources.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Sustainable biomass has played a vital role in the UK’s decarbonisation efforts to date and is an important part of the UK’s renewable energy mix. The Government recognises the need to ensure that biomass is prioritised where it brings about GHG emission reductions in hard to decarbonise sectors without other viable alternatives. The CCC and the National Grid’s 2020 Future Energy Scenarios indicated that it is not possible to achieve net zero without Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The Government has committed to establishing the role that BECCS could play in reducing carbon emissions across the economy.
The Government will continue to support a diversity of renewable technologies including wind and solar, through the Contracts for Difference scheme. The next allocation round will open in December 2021, with a draft budget of £265 million. In the Net Zero Strategy, the Government has committed to a sustained increase in the deployment of renewable generation technologies, such as solar and onshore wind in the 2020s and beyond, and to deliver 40GW from offshore wind by 2030.