Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to exonerate sub-postmasters prosecuted due to the Post Office Horizon system.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 10 January, Government announced its intention to bring forward legislation to overturn the convictions of all those convicted in England or Wales on the basis of Post Office evidence during the Horizon scandal. This work is proceeding at pace and legislation will be introduced within weeks. These individuals will become eligible for compensation; this includes the upfront offer of £600,000 or to claim more via the individual claim assessment process.
Compensation is already open to postmasters who were prosecuted but not convicted.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to engage with tier 2 suppliers developing new hydrogen technology for the aviation sector.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department for Business and Trade is investing £685m through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme to co-fund the development of zero-carbon and ultra-efficient aircraft technology and cross-cutting enablers. This includes collaborative R&D projects to develop new hydrogen technologies.
We are funding the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network Phase 0 project to explore the operating model for open access facilities to accelerate the development of liquid hydrogen aircraft technologies and capabilities.
As part of the Jet Zero Council, a Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group is advising on how government and industry can work together to accelerate the adoption of zero emission flight.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support electric vehicle manufacturing.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) aims to support the creation of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK. The Government continues to work with industry via the ATF to unlock strategic investments in gigafactories, motors and drives, power electronics, and fuel cell systems.
In the coming months, after engagement with industry, the Government will build on the ATF and the long-term Advanced Propulsion Centre R&D programme to take decisive action to ensure future investment in the manufacturing of zero emission vehicles.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report by the British Geological Society entitled Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK, published on 17 April 2023, what steps her Department is taking to develop a domestic critical minerals industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The report “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK” delivers on the commitment in the Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy to collate geoscientific data and identify target areas of potential for critical minerals within the UK. We are working with the British Geological Survey to understand next steps.
Through the Critical Minerals Strategy we are working to accelerate the UK’s domestic capabilities along the whole critical minerals value chain. Our support for businesses like Cornish Lithium and Green Lithium shows our determination to put the Strategy into action. We have also established the new Task & Finish Group on Industry Resilience for Critical Minerals which will investigate the critical mineral dependencies and vulnerabilities faced by UK Industry and help it to mitigate risks.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, steps her Department is taking to increase investment in the domestic battery recycling industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Critical Minerals Refresh published in March, sets out our approach to delivering on the Critical Minerals Strategy, and confirms our participation in the Minerals Security Partnership. Working with international partners, this aims to spur investment in supply chains across four pillars, including recycling and reuse, and will support our work to accelerate a circular economy of critical minerals in the UK.
The Government is also funding record investment in battery innovation and commercialisation, including in recycling. The £541m Faraday Battery Challenge is supporting projects such as REBLEND, which is developing commercial processes to directly recover valuable cathode active materials (CAM) for reuse in automotive batteries. The project is led by Ecoshred, with University of Leicester, University of Birmingham, Minviro, Iconichem Widnes, Watercycle Technologies, Ecolamp Recycling, and Cornish Lithium.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the US Department of Commerce adding two subsidiaries of BGI Group to its export blacklist, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of UK legislation for taking similar measures in the genomics sector; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a review of the adequacy of protections for British technology and goods from companies linked to the Chinese military.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Government is satisfied that the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria announced in the Written Statement of 8 December 2021, HCWS449, provide a thorough risk assessment framework for assessing all export licence applications, including the capacity of items to be misused in ways that could be used to commit human rights abuses.