Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure competition in the fuel industry.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Competitive markets ensure that consumers get a fair deal when they visit the pumps and that road fuel prices stay as low as possible. My Department actively monitors fuel prices. If people have evidence of anti-competitive practices in the fuel supply sector, this should be passed onto the Competition Markets Authority.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in Ashfield and Eastwood constituency can access fuel for cars.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is no shortage of road fuel in the UK. BEIS publishes weekly statistics for road fuels online (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/average-road-fuel-sales-and-stock-levels). Customers can continue to purchase fuel as they normally would.
The Government announced it will phase out Russian oil imports by end of year, which will allow UK oil operators appropriate time to adjust and protect supply of road fuels. The UK remains a significant producer of petroleum products. Demand for these fuels, including diesel, is also met by imports from a diverse range of reliable suppliers beyond Russia including Norway, Saudi Arabia and the USA.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government is planning to provide to new businesses setting up after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
This Government is committed to supporting new businesses and entrepreneurs as we come out of the pandemic.
Our network of 38 Growth Hubs across England, provides key services to new businesses offering free information and 1-1 advice, alongside our free Business Support Helpline. Growth Hubs offer triage, diagnostic and signposting services to make sure that all businesses know what support is available and know how to apply.
We are also committed to supporting new businesses to access the finance they need, through working with the British Business Bank (BBB). The Start Up Loans programme, part of the BBB, has delivered 82,797 loans across the UK with a value of more than £722.3 million since the programme’s launch in 2012 to the end of March 2021.
The Government’s business advice pages on GOV.UK also provide information and guidance relevant to starting, growing and maintaining a business, as well as their statutory rights and obligations, and links to support provided by devolved administrations in Scotland , Wales, and Northern Ireland. All details can be found online: www.gov.uk/browse/business.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to encourage employees to go back to the office after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The guidance on working from home will be reviewed ahead of Step 4 subject to the review on social distancing. People should continue to work from home where they can and minimise travel wherever possible as stated in the Government’s roadmap. Employers should ensure that workplaces are safe for anyone who cannot work from home.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support long term studies into covid-19 immunity.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested nearly £500 million towards 2,200 new research and innovation initiatives, both in the UK and globally. These initiatives are diverse and include research into Covid-19 immunity.
UKRI and the National Institute for Health Research have announced a joint £8.4 million investment towards three studies, which investigate major unanswered questions related to Covid-19 immunity.
Led by the University of Birmingham, the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium will receive £6.5 million to investigate key questions, such as how long Covid-19 immunity lasts, why some people’s immune systems are better able to fight off the virus, and why some immune responses cause damage.
The Humoral Immune Correlates of Covid-19 consortium, led by the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital, will receive £1.5 million to study molecules produced by the immune system to fight infection.
A third study, led by the University of Edinburgh, will receive £394,000 to investigate key features of fatal Covid-19 and the impact the virus has on the lungs and other vital organs.
The current overall UKRI portfolio of Covid-19-related grants, including awards supported by Innovate UK, involves vaccine projects that provide greater diversity of approaches than for the first generation of vaccines developed. More details can be found on the UKRI website.