Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill proposes to remove the right of energy companies to appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority.
Answered by Claire Perry
The draft Bill would place a new duty on Ofgem to implement a cap on standard variable and default tariffs, so it does not remove an existing right of appeal.
Energy companies would be able to challenge Ofgem’s decision on the setting of the cap by way of judicial review, and the Government believes that a Court is capable of considering these matters.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill proposes to require Ofgem to review the energy price cap once a year from 2020 rather than keeping the price cap under constant review.
Answered by Claire Perry
The review in 2020, and in 2021 and 2022 if the cap remains in place, will inform Ofgem’s report on whether the conditions for effective competition are in place, and Ofgem’s recommendation. This will inform the Secretary of State’s decision on whether the cap should remain in force.
It would not be practicable to keep the need for the price cap under constant review, however, in designing the method for setting the level of the price cap we would expect that Ofgem would need to consider how to take account of relevant short-term changes in the market.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the proposed provisions of the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill would permit him to remove the energy price cap in the event that such a removal would have a deleterious effect on (a) competition in the energy market and (b) energy customers.
Answered by Claire Perry
Ofgem would set the level of the price cap in a way such that, amongst other things, it would maintain incentives for switching and enable effective competition. The price cap would be lifted once the conditions for effective competition are in place in accordance with the process in clause 6.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the anticipated total output of the entire Moorside nuclear plant utilising the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor design and the Korea Electric Power Corporation APR-1400 nuclear reactor design.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Nugen’s published plans under Toshiba were to deploy three AP1000 reactors, each designed to produce a net power output of 1117 Megawatts. Now Toshiba has awarded Korea Electric Power Corporation preferred bidder status for acquiring Nugen, we will engage the companies to understand their proposals for the Moorside project.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Korea Electric Power Corporation currently holds a licence to manufacture nuclear reactors in the UK.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Any nuclear vendor wishing to deploy their reactor technology in the UK is required to comply with the UK’s regulatory and licensing requirements, and must successfully complete a Generic Design Assessment. Toshiba recently awarded Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) preferred bidder status for acquiring Nugen and further commercial decisions would be required before any regulatory processes could begin.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to SMEs in the North West ahead of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The Northern Powerhouse is at the core of our work to spread growth across the entire country, including the North West and a key aspect of our national Industrial Strategy.
We are determined to boost business growth and strengthen levels of trade and investment to ensure the North is well placed to take advantage of global business opportunities, both now and when we leave the European Union. The North West has seen 93,300 new SMEs created since 2010.
In February this year, we launched the £400 million Northern Powerhouse Fund for small businesses across the North, ensuring they have access to the finance they need to start-up and grow. This fund has now made 62 investments/loans into businesses in the North West totalling £10.5m. That is over half of that invested across the whole of the Northern Powerhouse.
Over the last three years, Government has invested and funded the establishment of 38 Growth Hubs (one in each Local Enterprise Partnership area) including a network of Growth Hubs across the North West, which are providing businesses with access to tailored local advice and support to help them grow.
Of these, Growth Hubs in the North West have supported over 25,793 businesses and helped 2,680 individuals to start a new business.
For businesses in Lancashire, this support is provided by Boost Business Lancashire Growth Hub which acts as the first port of call for businesses seeking advice and support locally. Since its launch in November 2013, Boost has engaged and supported 5,294 businesses and helped 409 individuals to start up a new business.
Over the past few years, we have also invested over £1.5 billion through the Local Growth Fund in the North West for projects to boost local economies .The Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership have now received over £320m as part of their Local Growth Funding to give businesses the support and opportunities they need and drive economic growth.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has any plans to ensure that nuclear fuel for the nuclear reactors at (a) Hinkley Point C, (b) Bradwell B and (c) Wylfa Newydd is manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Sourcing of fuel for new nuclear power stations is a matter for the project developers. The Government engages regularly with the developers on their supply chain plans as we seek to maximise UK economic benefit arising from the projects; this includes fuel manufacturing.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 nuclear fuel for the Moorside nuclear reactors is manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Sourcing of fuel for new nuclear power stations is a matter for the project developers. The Government engages regularly with the developers on their supply chain plans as we seek to maximise UK economic benefit arising from the projects; this includes fuel manufacturing.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 the nuclear fuel manufacturing industry.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government engages regularly with new nuclear build developers on their supply chain plans as we seek to maximise UK economic benefit; this includes fuel manufacturing. The Government is also actively involved in advising and supporting UK companies who are pursuing nuclear fuel supply and manufacturing opportunities in overseas markets.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the sustainability of the Post Office Local business model in which postmasters are obliged to cover all business overheads but are not necessarily able to cover their employee’s wages.
Answered by Margot James
Assessing the sustainability of its business models is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.
The Post Office’s Local business model allows the hosting businesses to improve their retail offer, by removing the need for a fortress counter to free up space in the shop to sell other items, and by integrating the post office counter into the main retail counter enabling efficiencies in running the store.
There are over 3,800 Local model post offices operating across the UK. Host retailers will also benefit from the associated footfall into the branch and Postmasters who have converted to the Local model have reported an average increase of 11% in their associated retail sales.