Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the list of ministerial responsibilities.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The details of ministerial portfolios in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be published shortly and will then be found on www.gov.uk/beis.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department provides to Ministers on sending departmental information using personal email addresses; and whether his Department is taking steps to reissue guidance on that issue.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Cabinet Office has published guidance to departments on the use of private email that covers how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. This guidance is being updated to reflect changes in technology and ways of working, and will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course. It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any Minister in his Department has sent Departmental information from their personal email addresses since December 2019.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
There is a place for the use of a variety of digital channels in fast moving modern environments. Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and relevant content from such discussions is passed back to officials. They will also use a variety of digital communications channels for personal, political and Parliamentary matters.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the delays to completing the contract to execute the signed Head of Terms from June 2022 between the Government and Moderna for the manufacturer to open a vaccines research and manufacturing centre in the UK; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those delays on progress in delivering that centre.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government was pleased to sign the Heads of Terms agreement back in June, and since then has been working at pace with Moderna to negotiate a strategic partnership to support the UK’s vaccine resilience. During this time, relevant Ministers have been regularly kept informed of progress, and will continue to receive full briefings as the contract progresses.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expected annual (a) current and (b) capital expenditure on the new polar research vessel will be in each financial year of that project; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The new polar research vessel was named Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough in 2019 and came into service in 2021. Annual operating costs are in the region of £20 million. The ship is operated by the British Antarctic Survey a wholly owned research centre of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). All UKRI’s budget is considered capital in the national accounts.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the expected annual (a) current and (b) capital expenditure on the Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme will be in each financial year of that scheme; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The amount allocated to the Met Office Supercomputing 2020+ Programme over the 2022-2025 Spending Review period is £349.1 million. This is part of the total business case approved investment of £1.2 billion. The Programme is funded through the BEIS R&D Capital budget. The Met Office annual report and accounts are published on metoffice.gov.uk.