Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 respond to the inclusion of shale gas production projects in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime consultation which closed on 25 October 2018.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government is considering the responses to this consultation and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the bioeconomy sector deal.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Several sectors, including the bioeconomy sector, have expressed an interest in a Sector Deal. We intend to take forward further Deals that best meet expectations set out in the White Paper in due course. I am pleased to say that on 5th December 2018 the UK’s first Bioeconomy Strategy was published on GOV.UK, to provide a framework for growth to 2030.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what biodiversity studies the Government has commissioned with regard to seabed mining.
Answered by Claire Perry
The National Environmental Research Council has conducted a scientific expedition in 2015 to look at biodiversity in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This work was part of the Managing Impacts of Deep Sea Resource Exploitation project. In 2012 Defra approved a plan of work by Lockheed Martin to look at the environmental aspects of manganese nodule commercial recovery from the deep seabed surface in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, Equatorial Pacific Ocean.
The International Seabed Authority does not carry out environmental impact assessments but does decide on the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) provided by external contractors and does provide guidance on what an EIS should cover. The UK government is committed to ensuring that exploiting deep sea mineral resources is only undertaken to the highest environmental standard and nominated Dr Gordon Patterson of the National History Museum as one of the members of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) of the International Seabed Authority. The LTC reviews the plans of work adopted under exploration contracts and the performance of contractors against those agreed plans of work. By nominating a world leading expert we are helping to ensure that the work of the ISA is assessed by the highest quality independent scientific advisers.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 adequacy of environmental impact assessments carried out by the International Seabed Authority for deep sea mining.
Answered by Claire Perry
The National Environmental Research Council has conducted a scientific expedition in 2015 to look at biodiversity in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This work was part of the Managing Impacts of Deep Sea Resource Exploitation project. In 2012 Defra approved a plan of work by Lockheed Martin to look at the environmental aspects of manganese nodule commercial recovery from the deep seabed surface in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, Equatorial Pacific Ocean.
The International Seabed Authority does not carry out environmental impact assessments but does decide on the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) provided by external contractors and does provide guidance on what an EIS should cover. The UK government is committed to ensuring that exploiting deep sea mineral resources is only undertaken to the highest environmental standard and nominated Dr Gordon Patterson of the National History Museum as one of the members of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) of the International Seabed Authority. The LTC reviews the plans of work adopted under exploration contracts and the performance of contractors against those agreed plans of work. By nominating a world leading expert we are helping to ensure that the work of the ISA is assessed by the highest quality independent scientific advisers.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 is making on taking forward with the European Commission the concerns of entertainment venues and lighting designers about the effect of the proposed EU Lighting Regulation 2020 to replace EU1194/2012 on theatre and other entertainment lighting.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has made representations to the European Commission in writing and in person to discuss the concerns of entertainment venues and lighting designers and potential solutions. Following officials’ advice to the industry, I understand that some of their representatives also met with the Commission and submitted an alternative proposal for stage lighting for their consideration.
It should be noted that this is still a proposal at this stage and a final decision on the draft regulation is likely to be made at the end of this year. Until then we will continue to engage with both industry, other Member States and the European Commission to inform the UK position prior to voting on the regulation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 recommendation of the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, published in July 2017, to extend the remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to include responsibility for umbrella companies.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government has already committed to extending the remit of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to include responsibility for umbrella companies. We are considering fully the views expressed in response to the consultation regarding how this is achieved in detail and will set out further information in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 25 June 2018 to Question 155717 on plastics: marine environment, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been allocated to the Commonwealth Marine Plastics Research and Innovation Framework; and what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that framework benefits people (a) living in poverty affected by mismanaged waste and (b) working in the informal waste management sector in developing countries.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The exact mix of the UK’s contribution to the Framework will be agreed in the autumn when large research programmes bids, including an Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, are complete. The Framework will strengthen capacity to prevent plastics from becoming waste and getting into the oceans. Interdisciplinary research and innovation will develop social, economic and environmental solutions to waste management challenges at local, national and Commonwealth scales.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to p2 of Small nuclear power: Government response to the Fourth Report of the Energy and Climate Change Committee 2014-15, HC 1105, what further analysis has been undertaken to understand the implications on waste management and disposal of using thorium fuels; and if he will commission a study to confirm the potential benefits of thorium in the longer-term and how any potential barriers to its use might be overcome.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
No further analysis has been undertaken to understand the implications on waste management and disposal of using thorium fuels. There are currently no plans to commission a study to confirm the potential benefits of thorium in the longer-term and how any potential barriers to its use might be overcome.
The successful bidders for Phase 1 of the Advanced Modular Reactor Feasibility & Development Programme were announced on 28th June. It should be noted that none of the eight designs that will be given an opportunity to demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of their designs plan to use thorium fuels.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Marine Plastics Research and Innovation Framework will have funding allocated from Official Development Aid.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The UK £25m contribution to the Commonwealth Marine Plastics Research and Innovation Framework will come from a number of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA sources, including planned government-funded research and innovation activities and new activities from unallocated budgets.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason emissions from agricultural farming in the greenhouse gas national inventory report do not include emissions from (a) feed produced overseas, (b) transportation, (c) cooking, (d) food waste, (e) refrigeration, (f) air conditioning, (g) waste disposal and (h) soils treated with nitrogen fertilisers.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK is an Annex I party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC adopted the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/) for Annex I countries in Decision 24/CP.19. The UK is thus required to make use of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines in the compilation of the UK’s greenhouse gas inventory. These guidelines define four sectors: Energy, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU), Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) and Waste. The guidelines also define national greenhouse gas inventories as including only emissions which take place within each country’s territorial boundary. This applies to your question as follows:
a) emissions from feed produced overseas are out of scope of national greenhouse gas inventories
b) emissions from transportation are included in the Energy sector
c) emissions from cooking are included in the Energy sector
d) emissions from food waste are included in the Waste sector
e) emissions from refrigeration are included in the Energy and IPPU sectors
f) emissions from air conditioning are included in the Energy and IPPU sectors
g) emissions from waste disposal are included in the Waste sector
h) emissions from soils treated with nitrogen fertilisers are included in the AFOLU sector