Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 potential effect of Heathrow Airport expansion on the Government's industrial strategy.
Answered by Jesse Norman
High quality infrastructure is essential for a successful industrial strategy. Through support for Heathrow, the Government is taking decisive action to secure the UK’s place in the global aviation market by building strong connections with global partners securing jobs and business opportunities for the next decade and beyond. This is a further step in a series of major infrastructure investment decisions.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 potential effect of Heathrow Airport expansion on the British steel industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We welcome Heathrow’s commitment to ensuring that UK suppliers for steel can access tender opportunities, and its adoption of government's steel procurement guidance. Heathrow estimates it will need 370,000 tonnes of steel to build its new terminals, equivalent to building 30 Shards. A new runway at Heathrow will be a major boost for the UK economy, and underlines that this government is taking action to secure the UK’s place in the global aviation market. This will secure jobs and business opportunities for the next decade and beyond.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to establish bereavement leave as a statutory employment right.
Answered by Margot James
We are exploring options for supporting bereaved parents in employment. The death of a child is traumatic and deeply upsetting for any parent, so it is easy to see why some time away from work may be needed.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is on track to meet the UK target under the Climate Change Act 2008 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent from the 1990 baseline by 2050.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government remains committed to tackling climate change and to the UK’s Climate Change Act. Climate change remains one of the most serious long-term risks to our economic and national security. We have already made good progress towards our goal, with the first carbon budget covering 2008 to 2012 being met. Provisional statistics indicate that UK emissions in 2015 were 38% lower than in 1990, and 3% below those in 2014.
We are looking ahead to our emissions reduction plan which will set out how we will reduce emissions through the 2020s, keeping us on track for our 2050 target.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 9 September 2016 to Question 44858, if he will meet the hon. Member for Copeland and representatives of the Civil Nuclear Police Federation before Christmas 2016 to discuss the Civil Nuclear Constabulary Police Officers' retirement age.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Minister responsible for matters relating to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, is meeting with the hon. Member on 19 October, and will be meeting with the Civil Nuclear Police Federation on 3 November.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on making the pension age for Civil Nuclear Constabulary police officers the same as that for police forces under the responsibility of the Home Office.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Government policy is for public sector workers to have a normal pension age equal and linked to the state pension age. Parliament defined ‘members of a police force’ in the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 in such a way as to exclude Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers from the special arrangements that were made for Home Office police forces under that Act. A recent High Court judgement confirmed this interpretation. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will work with the Civil Nuclear Police Authority to put in place the appropriate pension arrangements for Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers, within the parameters set out in the legislation.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of having the Civil Nuclear Constabulary retirement age at (a) 65 and (b) 68 on (i) the safety of the individual officer and (ii) national security.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary undertook a joint assessment of the effect of having a Civil Nuclear Constabulary retirement age of 65 or higher in 2015. This analysis considered the potential effects of an increase in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary retirement age on both national security and individual officer safety.
Civil Nuclear Constabulary Officers face rigorous testing to determine deployability and officers are firearms trained and tested to College of Policing Standards. Officers who joined the force post- 2011 are already subject to rigorous fitness standards, and following a Chief Constable’s Direction in Autumn 2015, these fitness standards are being extended to the remaining workforce. Capability and not age are the determining factors for deployment.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 the hon. Member for Copeland and representatives of the Civil Nuclear Police Federation to discuss the Civil Nuclear Constabulary Police Officers' retirement age.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Minister responsible for matters relating to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary has agreed to meet with all parties to discuss the pension age of Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 provide assurances that the North West Coast Connections Project will include underground cables through the Lake District National Park.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It will be for the developer to bring forward an application for consent for their proposal for examination by the Planning Inspectorate. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will take the decision on the application and it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the merits of the project in advance of his decision.
The application for the Project will be considered as part of the appropriate consent process which will take account of any Government policies and guidance, including that set out in National Policy Statements and other material considerations. Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) sets out policy for energy developments proposed within nationally designated landscapes.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
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 Millom Without Parish Council to discuss options to ensure that the North West Coast Connection Project does not affect the landscape of the west of the Lake District National Park.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be responsible for determining the application for consent for the proposed North West Coast Connection Project, it would not be appropriate for him to meet with Millom Without Parish Council to discuss the merits of the project.
The application for this project is expected to be submitted by National Grid to the Planning Inspectorate in 2017. During the pre-application stage, the Parish Council and other interested parties can get involved in the consultation process. When the application is lodged, the Parish Council will be able to make representations on it. The Planning Inspectorate can provide advice about the planning process for the project and advice about the process in general is available on its website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/