Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps is he taking to encourage the purchase of fleets of e-vans from British manufacturers.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government has provided over £100m in funding through the Plug-in Van Grant (PIVG) since its launch in 2012, supporting the purchase of over 15,000 ultra-low emission vans and trucks, the majority of which are zero emission vehicles. Demand for zero emission vans rose substantially in 2020, with increased interest from commercial fleets, and we expect this trend to continue as more models are brought to market and supply increases.
More widely, the Government welcomes action to accelerate the development of British made electric vehicles and an announcement from the Electric Vehicle Fleet Accelerator Group, made up of seven major UK companies who have pledged to buy 70,000 British made electric vans by 2030. As part of the 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, nearly £500 million of funding for the Automotive Transformation Fund will be made available in the next four years to invest in capital and R&D projects to build an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain. This funding is the first part of the up to £1 billion committed by the Government to ensure that the UK takes advantage of this once in a generation opportunity.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the main supply chain constraints are on the expansion of covid-19 vaccine production in the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government has been monitoring the requirements across the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain from supplier through to patient for some time. There are clear supply chain plans in place for both the supply and onward deployment of all vaccine candidates. This includes materials, manufacturing, transport, storage and distribution. The Vaccines Taskforce has conducted supply chain risk assessments and is working with the vaccine suppliers to understand the optimal logistics and timings.
We have successfully met our target of offering a first vaccine dose to every person within priority groups 1-9, three days before our 15 April target. Our target is to offer a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to all adults aged 18 and over by 19 July, two weeks earlier than planned.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 27 May 2021 to Question 3795 on Electric Vehicles: Vans, what steps his Department is taking to maximise the manufacture of electric vans in the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government is continuing its longstanding programme of support to ensure that the UK automotive sector remains at the forefront of technological developments. The Government and Industry have jointly committed almost £1.5 billion through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Faraday Battery Challenge to support the research, development, and manufacture of zero and low-emission technologies.
The Government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) offers a comprehensive package of support to enable the take up of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) including vans. This will see nearly £1.5bn of support invested over the period 2015-2021. Demand for ultra-low emission vans is increasing, with an increase of more than 70% in 2020 (5,863 new plug in van grant (PIVG) eligible vans registered), compared to 2019 (3,389).
In that time, ultra-low emission vans have risen from 1.0% to 2.1% of the new van market in the UK. Uptake has been boosted by 11 new models eligible for PIVG coming to market in 2020, including nine vans in the most popular large van segment.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 fairness of the level of charges by insolvency firms on (a) business and (b) the public purse.
Answered by Paul Scully
Insolvency legislation provides that the remuneration and expenses of insolvency officeholders are subject to the approval of creditors, and to the overall control of the court. Creditors have the power to challenge remuneration by application to court.
Statutory objectives introduced in 2015 require insolvency regulators to ensure that Insolvency Practitioners provide high quality services, at a cost to the recipient which is fair and reasonable. A response to the Government’s call for evidence on insolvency regulation, which sought views on the impact and effectiveness of the objectives, will be published later in the year.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with industry on ensuring maximum production of electric vans in the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government regularly engages with manufacturers and manufacturing trade associations on opportunities to support the growth and competitiveness of manufacturing sectors in the UK.
The Government consulted last year on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans. We sought views on the phase out date, the definition of what should be phased out, barriers to achieving the proposals, the impact of the ambitions on different sectors of industry and society, and what measures were required by government and others to achieve the earlier phase out date.
As part of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s ten point plan published in November 2020, we announced that we would phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. On 10 March, the Government published the full written outcome of the consultation including stakeholder views and the Government’s response. These ambitions will be supported by an accompanying package of £2.8 billion, with up to £1 billion to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains, £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure and £582 million for plug in vehicle grants.
Between 2030 and 2035, any new cars and vans sold that emit from the tailpipe must have significant zero emission capability. This will be defined through consultation in the coming months.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies are registered in (a) Sandwell and (b) the West Midlands.
Answered by Paul Scully
Please find below the number of companies and Limited Liability Partnerships for (a) Sandwell and (b) West Midlands as at Friday 14 May 2021:
Sandwell: 18,691 active companies registered;
West Midlands: 377,299 active companies registered.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 23 April 2021 to Question 180920 on Unite: Annual Reports, for what reason it was not feasible for the Certification Officer to publish the annual return for Unite from 18 December 2020 to early March 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29th April 2021 to Question 187136.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the UK's CO2 emissions were in (a) in total and (b) per capita in (i) 1990 and (ii) 2019.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Over the last three decades, the UK has achieved record clean growth and has met its world-leading climate change commitments. The UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions were 809 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (MtCO2e) in 1990 and decreased by 44% to 455Mt by 2019. Specifically for CO2, the figures were 608Mt in 1990 and 365Mt in 2019 – a 40% fall.
At the same time, the UK’s population grew by 16% between 1990 and 2019. This implies an approximate fall of over 50% in territorial greenhouse gas emissions per person, from 14.1tCO2e to 6.8tCO2e per person. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita fell from 10.6Mt per person to 5.5Mt.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 23 April 2021 to Question 180920 on Unite: Annual Reports, for what reason it was not feasible for the Certification Officer to publish the annual return for Unite between 18 December 2020 and early March 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
It was not feasible for the Certification Officer to publish the annual return for Unite between 18 December 2020 and early March 2021 due to staff absence. Throughout this period, copies of the annual return were made available for public inspection on application to her office.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies are registered in (a) Sandwell and (b) the West Midlands.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.