Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what level of Official Development Assistance funding The Global Challenges Research Fund is planned to receive for the financial year 2021-22.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
On Tuesday 26th January, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, having concluded the Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations of the Spending Review, issued a statement outlining each Department’s total ODA settlement for financial year 2021/22. BEIS was allocated £706 million, to be split between International Climate Finance (ICF) and Research and Development ODA, which includes the Global Challenges Research Fund.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 implications of the cost differential of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the UK and Uganda in achieving the Prime Minister's aim of making sure everybody gets the vaccines that they need so that the whole world can come through this pandemic together.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The UK is taking a strong global leadership role in collaborating with other countries in the development and distribution of a successful vaccine and we are encouraging other high-income countries to do the same. The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which will give lower and middle-income countries equitable access to vaccines that are developed. The UK has committed £548 million to the COVAX AMC.
Pricing of COVID-19 vaccines between pharmaceutical companies and other countries is a matter for those parties involved.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) organisations and (b) individual members of the public responded to the Aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition consultation, which closed on 8 February 2021.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK Government is now considering the information received from the consultation, and will respond in due course, including details of the number and type of respondent.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much Official Development Assistance his Department was allocated in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21; and how much it will be allocated in 2021-212.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
For financial year 2019/20, the Department was allocated £1.038bn for Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend. For financial year 2020/21 the Department was allocated £1.406bn, which was revised to £1.281bn following the ODA adjustments necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the 0.7% share of our GNI. For financial year 2021/22, the Department was allocated £706m.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on ending public financing of fossil fuels overseas; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
At the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January we announced an end to the Government's support for thermal coal mining and coal power plant overseas, and we continue to keep our approach to other fossil fuel investments and financing overseas under review.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 deals the Government have signed related to finding a vaccine for covid-19, whether (a) pharmaceutical companies, (b) the Government or (c) both have the authority to declare an end to the pandemic.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The World Health Organisation declared a coronavirus pandemic on 11 March 2020 and we would expect it to declare a move to a post-pandemic period as it has done previously for the H1N1 pandemic in 2010.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether employers are required to provide alternative transport for workers who cannot work from home and need to use public transport and who shielded during the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Paul Scully
In order to keep the virus under control, it is important that people work safely. In order to help contain the virus, workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter. Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so. Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work where necessary. Anyone else who cannot work from home should go to their place of work.
The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely. Employers should consult with their employees to determine who needs to come into the workplace safely taking account of a person’s journey, caring responsibilities, protected characteristics, and other individual circumstances. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 outcome of the review into funding support for fossil fuel projects overseas; and what exemptions he plans to include in the Government’s new policy on the provision of UKEF funding.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government keeps all policy under review and the outcome of any such reviews are published in a timely fashion.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 on manufacturers in the West Midlands of not (a) updating and (b) renewing guidance on CE markings after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Paul Scully
I appreciate that industry is looking for guidance as soon as possible. Guidance is under development and will be published shortly. However, I can confirm that the UKCA marking will come into existence on 1 January 2021.
The forthcoming guidance will address the question of CE marked goods in the UK after the transition period, however I can say now that under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement goods that were placed on the market before the transition periods ends can continue to circulate between the EU and the UK, including those which are CE marked.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 the announcement that the Government has secured access to 90 million doses of promising coronavirus vaccine candidates, published on 20 July 2020 on gov.uk, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that that access does not affect the availability of global vaccine stocks available for vulnerable groups in lower income countries.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The UK is working closely with international partners to ensure that when a vaccine is available, it will be accessible to everyone who needs it as soon as possible.
The UK has committed alongside other countries to support equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for example, committing up to £250 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for the development of coronavirus vaccines. The UK has already committed £48 million to the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX) Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) which supports low and middle-income countries to access a successful vaccine.
The UK is also working closely with CEPI, GAVI (Vaccine Alliance) and the WHO to shape the emerging proposal for the self-financing arm of COVAX, which can support both domestic access and equitable access to LMICs.
We continue to work with our international partners to ensure that where countries have bilateral deals – including whether we be in the fortunate position where we have excess doses, these could be contributed to the COVAX facility.