Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of UK companies who participate in the UK-China Green Finance Centre.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
UK-China Green Finance Centre Partners can be found on the UK China Green Finance Centre website: https://www.ukchinagreen.org/about-us/partners/
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many UK companies currently have joint-partnerships with Chinese companies as part of their operations in China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government does not hold this information, which is an independent commercial matter for the companies involved.
As set out in the Integrated Review, the UK will continue to pursue a positive trade and investment relationship with China, while ensuring our national security and values are protected.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many UK companies are currently involved in providing financing to China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The provision of all financial services is an independent commercial decision. The Government does not monitor individual companies’ activities.
As set out in the Integrated Review, the UK will continue to pursue a positive trade and investment relationship with China, while ensuring our national security and values are protected.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding the Government allocated to the UK-China Green Finance Centre in 2019-20.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK-PACT) China Programme has spent £32,154.08 supporting the UK-China Green Finance Centre. The UK-China Green Finance Centre’s mission is to enhance UK and China green finance cooperation to accelerate the global transition to an environmentally sustainable future. UK PACT’s contribution to the UK-China Green Finance Centre is part of a wider grant supporting the City of London Green Finance Initiative and China Green Finance Committee. UK PACT has supported a number of influential initiatives under the Centre over the past two years, most notably the UK-China Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Pilot Working Group; and the Green Investment Principles (GIPs).
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding the Government has allocated to the China-UK PACT since its inception.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Up to £5m has been approved for the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) Programme in China between 2018-2022. This programme is a demand-led technical assistance programme, working with high-emitting ODA eligible countries to support their low carbon transition in high impact areas. UK PACT China focuses on green finance, which China has recognised as critical to its climate mitigation. Greening China’s financial system and investment decisions is critical to climate mitigation globally and essential to meeting of the Paris Agreement. It is also central to UK’s objectives as COP26 upcoming Presidents.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has undertaken an assessment of the potential links between (a) universities based in the UK and research institutes in China and (b) the People’s Liberation Army.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The UK’s research sector is independent, but Her Majesty’s Government is supporting the sector to make informed decisions on international research collaboration. The government has published “Trusted Research” and supported the Universities representative body, Universities UK, to develop its own security guidelines which were published in October 2020. We continue to work closely with universities to promote advice and best practice, and to respond to specific inquiries.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
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 potential effect of restricting wedding ceremonies to places of worship and some public buildings from 12 April 2021 on the wider wedding industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
At Step 2, which will be no earlier than 12 April, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are permitted for up to 15 people in COVID-19 Secure venues that are permitted to open or where a broader exemption applies.
Receptions can take place with up to 15 people in the form of a sit-down meal and in any COVID-19 Secure outdoor venue that is permitted to open. Such receptions must not take place in people’s private gardens or public outdoor spaces.
Over the course of the pandemic, the Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support to business, which we keep under regular review.