Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh 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 publish the evidential basis for the proposed 12GW overall capacity cap in the fourth allocation round for Contracts for Difference, scheduled to commence in December 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
As set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement of 6 October 2020, Allocation Round 4 aims to support up to 12GW capacity of renewable electricity, subject to the availability of the pipeline. This is not an overall capacity cap, and we are currently considering auction parameters (including caps) ahead of publishing the Draft Budget Notice.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the draft budget notice for the fourth allocation round for Contracts for Difference.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We are currently developing parameters for Allocation Round 4 and will publish these well in advance of the next auction in December 2021.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department plans to use its ability to set a flexible cap in each pot in the fourth allocation round for Contracts for Difference.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Applying a capacity cap as a soft constraint might allow us to achieve capacity closer to the Government’s ambitions for the round than is possible with a hard capacity cap. We will publish the parameters for the fourth Contracts for Difference allocation round soon, including decisions on any use of soft capacity caps.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh 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 effect of the reduction in Official Development Assistance funding to UK Research and Innovation on members of the Global Challenges Research Fund Strategy Advisory Group in Scotland.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is overseen by the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG), which acts in an advisory capacity to the strategic direction of the GCRF. Its membership consists of experts in the fields of science and research, and international development. They represent academia, government, business and other stakeholders, covering a broad range of disciplines and have an international or global perspective.
Of the SAG’s 14 current members, three represent Scottish institutions. A full list of members, including their affiliate institutions, is available on the UKRI SAG webpage. I am not aware of any imminent planned changes the makeup of the SAG. A periodic refresh of SAG membership has only recently been completed, in line with Cabinet Office guidelines on good governance.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) UK and (b) Scottish-led projects in Official Development Assistance (ODA) countries that will be terminated as a result of the recent reduction in ODA funding to UK Research and Innovation.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22; and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector.
On 1st April, the Department set out an additional £250m of funding for the R&D sector. As a result, UK scientists will have access to more public funding than ever before. This takes total Government investment in R&D to £14.9 billion in 2021/22 and follows four years of significant growth in R&D funding, including a boost of more than £1.5 billion in 2020/21.
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations, including determining which projects will be going ahead. Our Delivery Partners have communicated with award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding next year, and to explore options for individual programmes. Full details have been published on the UKRI website. Due to the ongoing nature of this process, until it is complete, we cannot share project-level details.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh 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 undertake an impact assessment of the reduction in Official Development Assistance funding to UK Research and Innovation on the UK's ability to assist in addressing societal issues in Lower and Middle Income countries.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
On 2nd December last year, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to the Chair of the International Development Committee setting out the Strategic Framework for UK ODA, which details the UK’s foreign aid spending priorities. This is in addition to tackling poverty, as all UK ODA does. In line with these priorities, he confirmed each Department’s total ODA settlement on 26th January.
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations. Once this process is complete, BEIS officials will review the impact of these spending decisions, in line with relevant public sector duties.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the average (a) cost and (b) time taken to ship a parcel to the EU in 2021 compared to 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s priority is to keep goods moving and avoid delays at the border. The Government is ensuring that border processes are as smooth as possible, without compromising security.
The Government is continuing to engage with businesses across sectors to support their adjustment to the new processes and arrangements with the European Union.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2021 to Question 152474 on Energy: Prices, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of transmission charges on the competitive process of awarding contracts for difference.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
National Grid Electricity System Operator collects transmission charges from network users to recover the cost of installing and maintaining the transmission system in Great Britain and the offshore electricity network infrastructure. These include a locational element to reflect network use as part of the requirement for cost reflective network charges.
Individual Contracts for Difference bidders will determine their bid prices based on their own assessment of expected costs and revenues. The price paid to each successful bidder is based on the clearing price of a competitive auction.
However, the Department does set the maximum strike price each technology can receive (the Administrative Strike Price), which takes into account a broad range of factors. This incorporates our latest view of transmission charges, estimated for pipeline projects where possible using tariffs and network charging assumptions for each location (provided by National Grid).
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether there will be a regionalisation to the awarding of contracts for difference in the fourth auction later in 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme does not award contracts to projects based on regional quotas. The scheme awards contracts through a competitive process which ensures the most cost-effective projects are supported. The focus on supporting the lowest price bids drives efficiency and cost reduction and has resulted in significant quantities of new renewable electricity capacity being delivered across Great Britain.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh 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 make an assessment of the potential merits of removing transmission charges as an element in applications for the fourth contracts for difference auction.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
National Grid Electricity System Operator collects transmission charges to recover the cost of installing and maintaining the transmission system in Great Britain and the offshore electricity network infrastructure. These include a locational element to reflect network use as part of the requirement for cost reflective network charges.
Individual Contracts for Difference bidders will determine their bid prices based on their own assessment of expected costs and revenues. The price paid to each successful bid is based on the clearing price of a competitive auction.
However, the Department does set the maximum strike price each technology can receive (the Administrative Strike Price), which takes into account a broad range of factors. This incorporates our latest view of transmission charges, estimated for pipeline projects where possible using tariffs and network charging assumptions for each location (provided by National Grid).