Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what shortfall in capacity UK ports and harbours are expected to identify in regard to managing the importation of biomass fuels in each of the next 20 years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We are aware that certain ports have an interest in replacing falling coal movements with biomass. However, it is for biomass supply chains and ports to determine the facilities that they require and which are available.
The Government does not publish projections of the future use of biomass fuels. Accurate modelling of future biomass requirements requires, among other things, knowledge of future Government policies which are yet to be decided. However, in 2011 we published an analysis of the technical potential of various biomass feedstocks which could be available for use in bioenergy. This can be found at:
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to remove subsidies for biomass fuels to discourage their importation.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government does not subsidise biomass fuels. The Government supports a range of renewable technologies which can use biomass fuels in generating low carbon energy for electricity, heat and transport. We do not distinguish between domestic and imported biomass fuels but there are standards on sustainability and greenhouse gas savings which apply to all biomass receiving subsidy.
On 9 November 2016 the Department published a call for evidence on renewable fuelled technologies in the Contracts for Difference scheme. The response to this consultation may help inform future policy decisions, including whether the support we currently offer to these technologies through the CFD is right for delivering our objectives on value for money for decarbonisation.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Government has made of the projected use of biomass fuels in each of the next 20 years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government does not publish projections of the future use of biomass fuels. Accurate modelling requires knowledge of Government policies beyond this Parliament. In 2011 we published an analysis of the technical potential of various biomass feedstocks which could be available for use in bioenergy. This can be found at:
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what measures she is taking to promote the Flow Country in Caithness and Sutherland as a future UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The Flow Country World Heritage nomination was examined at a Technical Evaluation panel in December 2015, where it was concluded that there is potentially a strong and clear case to be made for putting the site forward for World Heritage status. Further work is currently being undertaken to develop the nomination to a sufficient standard to make a convincing case for inscription, and DCMS will be happy to arrange a further technical evaluation once this has been completed.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying different immigration rules to Scotland and other constituent parts of the UK.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Immigration remains a reserved matter and we will consider the needs of the UK as a whole.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support refugees (a) in the UK and (b) elsewhere in Europe.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
All those granted refugee status in the UK are given access to the labour market and benefits, and are encouraged to access organisations that can assist with integration.
The Home Office provides integration loans, which are designed to help new refugees to integrate into UK society by offering support towards housing costs, employment and training.
The Government has prioritised supporting refugees in their region of origin and the countries that host them through aid and development funding and is at the forefront of international efforts to end the Syrian crisis.
We have committed to resettling up to 20,000 individuals under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and 3,000 individuals under the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme over the lifetime of this Parliament.
In Europe, the UK is a leading Member State contributing both financial and practical support for refugees through the European Asylum Support Office and bilaterally with countries such as France, Greece, and Italy.
This support includes: resources to assist with processing arrivals; £34 million contribution to Greece’s humanitarian response (enabling provision of essential tents, blankets, and sleeping bags); a £10 million Refugee Children Fund for Europe; £1.5 million for humanitarian and research activities in Italy; and naval support for vessels in distress.
The Government accepted an amendment during the passage of the Immigration Act 2016 to bring a specified number of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.
Since 10 October, we have transferred over 300 unaccompanied children to the UK from France.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications of the UK leaving the EU on her Departmental responsibilities.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) is working closely with all Government departments to ensure that the full range of opportunities are taken and risks mitigated across every area of Government policy.
A central unit has been established to coordinate EU exit work across the Home Office and act as a central contact for DExEU. Units across the Home Office are also feeding into this work.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 identify, promote and develop innovations in (a) wind, (b) wave, (c) tidal and (d) riverflow cold renewables.
Answered by Jesse Norman
From 2013–2015, government and its agencies (including Innovate UK and the Research Councils) invested on average over £200m per year in support for low carbon innovation. This included support for identifying, promoting, and developing innovations in the wind and marine sectors, including for the Glasgow-based Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and Supergen UK Centre for Marine Energy Research.
From 2016-2021, government has committed to increase the UK’s energy innovation spend, such that by 2021 it will have doubled to over £400m per year. This funding will support innovation across the energy sector in regions across the UK, and details will be set out in due course. Through the new Energy Innovation Board, chaired by Sir Mark Walport, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy will be collaborating with Innovate UK, the Research Councils, and other delivery partners across government, including members of Devolved Administrations, to co-ordinate energy innovation activities.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on reports of recent massacres in Beni and the North Kivu region in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government is deeply concerned by the reports of mass killings in Beni. During my visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in August, I raised the ongoing violence in eastern DRC with Maman Sidikou, Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in eastern DRC (MONUSCO). In addition, our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regularly discusses the Beni situation with the MONUSCO leadership and the DRC Government. The EU Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions of 17 October reiterated the EU’s profound concern at the situation in Beni and reminded all involved of the UN sanctions regime for those responsible for serious human rights violations. Most recently, our representative on the UNSC visited eastern DRC last week to explore what more MONUSCO can do to prevent future killings.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on improving diplomatic co-ordination against Daesh.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Global Coalition continues to coordinate closely as we reach a key phase of the campaign against Daesh. All five of the Coalition's Working Groups have met in the last two months, including Communications which I co-chaired. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, My Right Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) and the Secretary of State for Defence, my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Sir Michael Fallon), attended meetings in Paris in October shortly after the operation to take Mosul began. Most recently, the Small Group of Coalition senior officials met in Berlin on 17 November.