Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to support the roll out of a national reusable nappy incentive scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the 25 Year Environment Plan and our Resources and Waste Strategy, we are considering the best approach to minimise the environmental impact of a range of products, including nappies, taking on board the environmental and social impacts of the options available.
Potential additional policy measures include standards, consumer information and encouraging voluntary action by business which could include a national reusable nappy incentive scheme.
We are funding an environmental assessment of disposable and washable absorbent hygiene products with the primary focus on nappies, and we need to wait for the outcome of that work before considering possible future action by the Government and industry. The assessment is looking at the waste and energy impacts of washable and disposable products, disposal to landfill or incineration, and recycling options. The research will be published later this year, following peer review.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the cross-Departmental group coordinated by his Department is assessing lithium-ion battery safety in domestic settings in addition to large-scale battery storage facilities.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
BEIS established an industry-led storage health and safety group with an independent chair, following the joint BEIS and Ofgem 2017 Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan.
This group considers the safety of lithium-ion storage both in domestic settings and for large-scale facilities.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive have taken to assess the risk of fire and explosion associated with large scale lithium-ion battery storage.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been closely studying battery safety for several years, using its bespoke battery testing facility to help customers and research partners understand how best to manage the fire and explosion risks during battery manufacture, storage, transport, and use. HSE’s scientists and engineers are at the forefront of the Energy Storage Health and Safety Governance Group and have been involved with the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Code of Practice for Electrical Energy Storage Systems and the Energy Institute’s Guidance Note on battery energy storage system fire planning and response.
The fundamental principle of health and safety law is that those who create risks are best placed to control them so far as is reasonably practicable. Designers, installers, and operators all have a duty to ensure this is the case. HSE regulate Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), within a robust regulatory framework, expecting the duty holder to assess the specific situation and implement necessary control measures.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when Fakenham, Norfolk is planned to receive funding from the UK Community Renewal Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The UK Community Renewal Fund aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches and will invest in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment.
The deadline for bid submission has now passed. Officials are currently assessing the bids received and funding decisions will be announced in due course. Successful project applicants will have until 31st March 2022 to deliver their projects.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with the Health and Safety Executive to ensure effective regulation of proposed new battery developments on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk Border and in Kent.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive considers that the current regulatory framework is sufficient and suitably robust in relation to lithium-ion batteries and battery energy storage systems.
Of particular relevance are the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations which set minimum requirements for the protection of workers and others from fire and explosion risks; the Electricity at Work Regulations which require precautions to be taken against the risk of death or personal injury from electricity in work activities; and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations which require risks to be assessed and appropriately managed. In addition, for large scale battery storage, there are statutory requirements to notify the Fire and Rescue Service to inform their emergency response planning.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
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 merits of regulating lithium-ion battery energy storage systems to help mitigate the risk of fire.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, including grid-scale installations and those used in homes and businesses, are covered by a robust regulatory framework which requires manufacturers to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market, that they are installed correctly by project developers, and that any safety issues found after products are on the market or after installation are dealt with.
There are a number of regulations that must be met for the product and installation of a battery to mitigate the risk of fire, including the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. In addition, for large scale battery storage there are statutory requirements to notify the Fire and Rescue Service to inform their emergency response planning.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of NHS dental provision in Norfolk.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
National Health Service dentists throughout the country have been asked to maximise safe throughput to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and care for vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. This has been underpinned by the requirement for dental providers to deliver 60% of normal activity volumes for the first six months of 2021/22 for full payment of the NHS contractual value.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders to amend the Directory of Service to improve pathways for urgent patients to urgent dental centres and dental practices across the East of England. In addition, a web-based programme called ‘Service Finder’ has recently been launched which provides up-to-date information about services that are available locally. A transformational dental strategy has also been developed in the East of England, to prioritise urgent care, prevention and inequalities. Plans to procure additional primary care dental services across Suffolk, Norfolk and Waveney are currently being reviewed.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question
What steps she is taking to support female entrepreneurs.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Our Start Up Loans Company has a great track record, supporting female entrepreneurs with over 33,000 loans worth over £270.5 million since the scheme launched in 2012, to the end of April 2021. This represents 40% of the total amount lent. Over £4.5 million of these loans have been made since the start of April 2021. The scheme provides intensive support to new entrepreneurs, including low-cost government-backed loans and free mentoring.
In March, we announced an award of £50,000 each to the UK's top female innovators, as well as bespoke mentoring, to scale up and bring to market their innovations, and to help the UK recover from COVID-19 and tackle global challenges.
The Government has taken active measures, publishing the Investing in Women Code and working with industry through the actions agreed by the Rose Review. In response to the Rose Review recommendations, we set an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by half by 2030, equivalent to nearly 600,000 additional female entrepreneurs.
The government-backed British Business Bank is part of HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, which asks financial services firms to commit to industry actions to prepare their female talent for leadership positions.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question
What steps he is taking to secure an international carbon price that is sufficient to effect consumer behavioural change in the run-up to COP26.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Carbon pricing has been shown to incentivise investment in renewable energy in a cost-effective manner. The UK has long been a supporter of carbon pricing and continues to lead the way with the new UK Emissions Trading System.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of implementing carbon border adjustment tariffs.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As a global leader on decarbonisation, the UK recognises the importance of ensuring that policy interventions to cut domestic emissions do not lead to increased emissions elsewhere. A range of approaches could potentially help to address this, of which carbon border adjustments are one, and the Treasury continues to engage on the issue.