Sam Tarry

The UK is taking ambitious action through the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and landmark Net Zero Strategy to reach net zero, while creating jobs and reinvigorating new industries.

At the same time, the Government will support developing countries to decarbonise. Those efforts are at the heart of the UK’s COP Presidency and COP26, that took place in November 2021.

The Government does not forecast estimates of the numbers of jobs associated with particular oil field developments as a matter of course, and this does not form part of the regulator’s decision-making processes.

The upstream oil and gas sector supports approximately 147,000 jobs both directly and in the supply chain. Many of these roles are highly skilled, providing quality employment for workers in locations right across the country and supporting many more local jobs.

Since 31 March 2021, the UK Government no longer provides any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, other than in limited circumstances, and is aligning its support to enable clean energy exports.

While the Government is working to drive down dependency for oil and gas, there will continue to be ongoing demand over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee. Given the maturity of the UK Continental Shelf, even with continued development, the UK is projected to remain a net importer out to 2050. The North Sea Transition Deal sets out a path for the UK to manage the transition away from fossil fuels, with a goal of achieving a net zero basin by this timeframe. Further, as announced earlier this year, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint for any new licences which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with its climate goals, including net zero.

The Government has committed to phasing out unabated coal generation in Great Britain by October 2024. Coal’s share of our electricity supply has already declined significantly in recent years – from almost 40% in 2012 to less than 2% in 2020.

The Government is committed to improving energy efficiency. We have recently committed £3.9 billion to decarbonising buildings over the next 3 years, taking our total investment to date during this parliament to almost £6.6bn

This will fund the next 3 years of investment through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant scheme, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Heat Networks Transformation Programme and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Alongside these schemes, the Government is already providing energy-efficiency upgrades such as insulation and low-carbon heating to around 50,000 homes through the Local Authority Delivery Scheme. Furthermore, the Energy Company Obligation scheme has installed 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes since 2013.

Through our first Net Zero Strategy, published 19 October 2021, we committed to grow green industries and supply chains in the UK, which will support up to 240,000 jobs by 2035, resulting in £10 billion additional GVA in the same timeframe.

Consumer protection law requires mandatory protection of consumer deposits in a number of sectors, and particularly in the travel industry. The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 ensure arrangements are made so travellers are refunded, or where applicable repatriated, should the organiser become insolvent.

In July 2020 the Government announced that passengers who accept refund credit notes for cancelled holidays as a result of COVID-19 will be protected by the ATOL scheme if necessary. If the CMA finds evidence that companies are failing to comply with the law, it will take appropriate enforcement action.

In July, the Government published a command paper, ‘Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy’ that sets out a range of proposals to enhance consumers’ rights, including with regard to consumer prepayments which in some cases count as deposits. The consultation closes on 1 October and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-competition-and-consumer-policy.

The UK Government has legislative targets already in place covering the period 2023-2027 (carbon budget 4) and 2028-32 (carbon budget 5). In April, the Government laid legislation for the UK’s sixth carbon budget, proposing a world-leading target which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. This builds on the momentum of our Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, to reduce emissions in 2030 by at least 68% compared to 1990 levels.

The Government is funding a number of schemes as part of its commitment to retrofit homes to cut energy bills for households and to make them greener on the path to Net Zero.

The Local Authority Delivery Scheme (LAD), which supports projects to install energy efficiency measures such as various types of insulation, and low-carbon heating systems for low-income households, has already provided £500million to Local Authorities for upgrades to low-income households across England, and is being delivered up to December 2021. The London Borough of Redbridge has already been allocated £2.2 million of funding through the first phase of LAD, as well part of the £6.8 million of the Greater London Authority’s successful consortium-led bid in that phase.

On 16^th June 2021, the Government launched the Sustainable Warmth Competition enabling Local Authorities to apply for further funding under the £200million Local Authority Delivery Phase 3 scheme and from an initial allocation of £150million for the Home Upgrade Grant Phase 1 scheme, for delivery up to March 2023.

In addition, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator has awarded £62million of funding to social landlords across England and Scotland to test innovative approaches to retrofitting at scale, seeing over 2300 social homes improved to at least EPC band C. The Government has announced around a further £160million for the first wave of the £3.8bn manifesto commitment in financial year 21/22, delivering up to March 2023.

The Government announced in the Sustainable Warmth Strategy a four-year, £4 billion successor scheme to ECO, to accelerate our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets. ECO will continue to be an obligation on suppliers.

In order to meet our Net Zero by 2050 target, we must act now to tackle the emissions produced by heating. in order to ensure continued progress, we have set a series of legally binding “carbon budgets”, which are amongst the most stringent climate targets in the world.

The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings, setting out the interventions required to meet our ambitious carbon budget targets, with a particular focus on carbon budgets 4 and 5. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating as part of an ambitious programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings.

We will also publish a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy. This will raise ambition as we outline our path to meet net zero by 2050, our Carbon Budgets and Nationally Determined Contribution.

From Step 3 which took place on 17 May, indoor areas of hospitality venues reopened. Venues are prohibited from providing smoking equipment such as shisha pipes, for use on the premises.

The Government’s COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021 set out that the Government aims to reopen the remaining closed settings by Step 4. We have always said that we would be led by data, not dates. We have looked at the data very closely and assessed it against the four tests. It is on the basis of worsening data that we have taken the difficult call not to proceed with Step 4 reopening at this point, but to pause for four weeks until 19 July.

Help to Grow: Digital is seeking to encourage small businesses to adopt software which will help them save time, money and grow.

Further detail covering the software the voucher can be used on and how vendors eligible for the scheme can apply will be published prior to the Autumn launch date.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Construction workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining vital infrastructure, and providing and maintaining safe, decent homes for people to live in. Throughout the pandemic, the Government has been clear that construction activity should continue, where it can take place safely.

The Government has worked with the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, construction firms, and other stakeholders to develop guidance on safer working on construction sites. This is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/construction-and-other-outdoor-work.

The construction industry has also developed Site and Branch Operating Procedures for firms and merchants, as well as guidance for small firms and mineral products suppliers. These provide advice as to how construction firms can apply the Government guidance on safer working.

The Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme which supports energy efficiency and low carbon heat projects for low-income households is being delivered in three phases:

- Phase 1A; over £74million was allocated to 55 Local Authorities in October 2020 to be delivered by June 2021.

- Phase 1B:  around £126million has been allocated to 81 Local Authorities for delivery by September 2021.

- Phase 2: funding of £300m has been allocated to the five Local Energy Hubs, who will work with Local Authorities in their region to deliver projects by December 2021.

BEIS estimates the LAD Scheme will support on average 8,000 jobs per annum over the years 2020/21 and 2021/22.

The Government is aware of the challenges, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that medical research charities are currently facing. We appreciate the globally recognised expertise of these charities, and the substantial contributions they make to our world-leading life sciences sector.

BEIS and DHSC regularly discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on charity-funded research with the Association of Medical Research Charities. We are continuing to engage with them and receive intelligence on the impacts facing the sector, such as the challenges facing fundraising activities.

The Government already provides significant funding to charities’ research, for example through Research England’s Quality Related (QR) charity support funding. This year charity QR will amount to £204m, to support charity funded research in universities in England and equivalent support is provided in Scotland through devolved funding arrangements.

The Government has demonstrated its ambitions for research by committing £14.6bn to R&D in 2021/22. This funding will support the life sciences sector within which Medical Research Charities operate alongside other research areas.

All BEIS consultations and Departmental responses can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations?parent=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&content_store_document_type%5B%5D=closed_consultations&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&order=updated-newest.

The 2018 National Security and Investment White Paper consultation indicated that the proposed legislative reforms would extend to the wider economy and not be limited to specific types of company.

The National Security and Investment Bill will be brought forward in due course.

The Government conducted a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project in 2016. The conclusions of the review were set out in a statement made by the then Secretary of State on 15th September 2016, Official Report, Column 1066.

For reasons of national security, I am unable to publish the security assessments produced to support the 2016 review. However, all investment involving critical infrastructure is subject to thorough scrutiny and needs to satisfy our robust legal, regulatory, and national security requirements.

WHSmith’s restructuring programme is not expected to impact Post Office services provided in the 206 Post Offices operated within WHSmith stores.

The restructuring programme review of WHSmith’s operations is to ensure the company is able to navigate the current uncertain economic times, particularly as a result of the decline in travel during Covid-19. However, the Department has an open dialogue with both Post Office Limited and WHSmith and will keep monitoring the situation closely.

As of 16 August, 60,409 facilities have been offered through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), worth a total of £13.68bn.

Restrictions on dividend payments have been in place since the introduction of the scheme on 20 April. Businesses taking out a loan through the scheme could continue making dividend payments, but could not increase the size of those payments for as long as any facility under CLBILS remained outstanding.

When the scheme was amended on 26 May to increase the maximum loan size to £200m, further restrictions on dividend payments were introduced for companies borrowing more than £50m. The new restrictions meant that borrowers seeking loans of over £50m could not make any dividend payments (other than those that have already been declared) until the facility had been repaid in full.

Shareholder dividends are listed in companies’ annual reports and are available through Companies House records.

The Government has supported millions of firms over the course of the crisis to date, helping them protect jobs and stay in operation, ready to form part of the recovery.

We are aware that many companies have taken on substantial amounts of debt during the pandemic. Some of these companies have never taken on debt before and will need support to manage their debts and repayments. We are aware of external proposals by think tanks and other bodies to support companies to recapitalise and we regularly consider a variety of policy ideas to identify the best way to support businesses through and beyond the pandemic.

Eligibility for the RHLGF was based on businesses being in scope of the Expanded Retail Discount Scheme for Business Rates, as set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-retail-discount-guidance.

This eligibility definition was agreed as a way of ensuring that Local Authorities could target businesses at pace and ensure that the process of disbursing funding could proceed quickly.

The Department for Transport is monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the coach industry. Ministers and officials have met with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and considered an assessment provided by the CPT on the impact of COVID-19 on the coach industry.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport, hosted a roundtable with the CPT and coach operators on the 15 July, and on 13 August spoke with the CPT’s CEO to discuss wider issues facing the coach sector. Department for Transport officials continue to meet with the CPT regularly to discuss a range of issues including the challenges facing the coach industry.

UK Government Ministers and officials have been open to engaging with all devolved administrations following the UK Internal White Paper publication on 16 July, with discussions held before and after receipt of the devolved administration’s consultation responses. Further discussions are planned at Ministerial and official-level with all three devolved administrations as the legislative Consent Motion process is engaged following the Bill's introduction.

The last published Companies House statistics show that were a total of 6,902,173 directorships as of March 2019. Directorships are not the number of unique directors on the register, but the number of directorships appointed. Some individuals will have more than one appointment so the actual number of people who are directors will be lower than this figure.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The criteria for awarding new franchises?is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.? I have therefore asked?Nick Read,?the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon. Member on this matter. A copy of?his?reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The number and location of Post Office franchises awarded to ZCO Ltd ?is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.? I have therefore asked?Nick Read,?the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon. Member on this matter. A copy of?his?reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

I am not aware of discussions between my predecessor and the National Archives specifically relating to the document entitled, FCO 37/3978 Involvement of UK companies training Sri Lankan security forces, 1985 during 2016.

The department regularly engages with BT and others across the telecoms industry on a variety of issues, including the government’s ambitions for nationwide gigabit capable broadband and 5G mobile coverage. Despite recent speculation in the media, BT is not subject to a takeover bid at the current time.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders on a variety of issues. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing commercial matter.