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Written Question
Copyright
Tuesday 31st January 2023

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, when the consultation on copyright protection from text and data mining will be concluded; and when she will decide on the steps the Government will take in response to that consultation.

Answered by George Freeman

The Government commenced a period of stakeholder engagement on implementation options for its proposals for text and data mining in December 2022. The Government aims to conclude this engagement in early 2023 and a decision on next steps will subsequently be taken.


Written Question
Nuclear Power: Carbon Emissions
Thursday 26th January 2023

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 his Department has made of the potential role of nuclear power in decarbonising the supply of electricity.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government recognises the important role that nuclear has to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This is reflected in the British Energy Security Strategy, published in April 2022, which sets out Government’s ambition to deploy up to 24 Giga Watts of nuclear power by 2050.

The Department is considering the findings of the independent review of net zero, published on 13th January 2023, which reaffirmed many of the proposals set out in the British Energy Security Strategy for nuclear power.


Written Question
Nuclear Reactors
Thursday 26th January 2023

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 estimate his Department has made of global (a) demand and (b) supply of small modular nuclear reactors.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Global SMR Demand

In 2014, The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) estimated the size of the potential global Small Modular Reactor (SMR) market to be significant. This was calculated at approximately 65-85GW and valued at £250-£400bn by 2035. These findings were published as part of the NNL Feasibility Study on SMRs.

Global SMR Supply

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors the global supply of advanced reactor systems. The IAEA’s Advanced Rector Information System identifies that there are more than 80 different advanced reactor designs under development in 18 countries.


Written Question
Nuclear Power: Employment
Thursday 26th January 2023

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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the nuclear power industry in employment in the next five years.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG), which the Department is a member of, estimated that the UK nuclear workforce (which includes the workforce needed for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C but no further new build projects) would be approximately seventy thousand in five years’ time. This assessment is included in the Nuclear Workforce Assessment 2021. Officials will be working with the Group to update the Assessment later this year.


Written Question
Nuclear Reactors
Thursday 26th January 2023

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 progress his Department has made on the programme for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Small Modular Reactors could have an important role to play in the UK energy system in the transition to net zero by 2050 and in support of energy security.

The Government has awarded £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design. The Rolls-Royce SMR entered the Generic Design Assessment process in March becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation.

As outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government intends to initiate a selection process in 2023 for the next nuclear projects, including SMRs.


Written Question
Insolvency: Costs
Monday 16th January 2023

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, whether he will review trends in the level of costs charged by insolvency practitioners.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government currently has no plans to review trends in the fees charged by Insolvency Practitioners.

The insolvency regime provides for the regulation of Insolvency Practitioners including the fees they charge. The Insolvency Rules 2016 require Insolvency Practitioners to provide creditors with an upfront estimate of costs that acts as a cap on fees and gives a process for challenge, including through the courts if necessary.

Insolvency Practitioners are regulated by Recognised Professional Bodies who apply the regulatory standards contained in the Insolvency Practice rules to ensure fees are fair and reasonable reflections of the work undertaken in an insolvency appointment.


Written Question
Electricity Generation
Thursday 12th January 2023

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 assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the capacity margins for electricity generation and (b) potential impact of those margins on the (i) operation and (ii) stability of the National Grid.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) ensures there is adequate capacity available to meet peak demand in a range of scenarios, including by evaluating the amount of capacity needed to meet future demand. This assessment informs targets for annual Capacity Market auctions, which have already secured the majority of Great Britain’s capacity needs out to 2025/26.

NGESO is responsible for balancing electricity supply and demand in real time, as well as for managing the operation and stability of the system. The Government is confident that NGESO has the tools needed to operate the electricity system reliably.


Written Question
Insulation
Wednesday 26th October 2022

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 data his Department hold on the number of trained insulation installers in the UK.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department does not hold data on the total number of trained insulation installers in the wider supply chain. According to the records held by TrustMark, there are 763 TrustMark registered and PAS 2030:2019 certified insulation installer businesses as of 20th October 2022. In total there are 1,941 TrustMark registered businesses that meet the requirements to participate in government retrofit schemes.


Written Question
Natural Gas: Storage
Tuesday 18th October 2022

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 much gas is currently in storage in the UK; and what percentage the gas stored represents the total annual gas usage.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK has a working gas storage capacity of 1.5bcm (billion cubic meters). This is equivalent to around 2% of typical total annual gas demand. Based on the Aggregate Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI) figures, as of Tuesday 11 October, GB storage is 100% full.


Written Question
Natural Gas: Storage
Tuesday 18th October 2022

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 estimate his Department made of the cost of (a) repairing and (b) maintaining the Rough Gas Storage Field in 2017.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Centrica closed Rough in June 2017 for commercial reasons. This was not a decision for BEIS or Government ministers.

At the time, external analysis produced by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) found that the closure of Rough had limited to no impact on security of supply or the price of gas.