Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 on the effect of leaving the EU on European Conformity marking for industrial products; and if he will take steps to ensure that the legal framework for that marking in the UK reflects EU regulation after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Government recognises the important role of conformity marking in providing confidence that a product meets the relevant essential requirements as set out in legislation. Through the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill these requirements will be brought into UK law as we leave the EU.
My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech that a fundamental principle in our negotiating strategy should be that trade between the UK and the EU should be as frictionless as possible. She set out our intention to agree a comprehensive system of mutual recognition and that UK and EU regulatory standards will remain substantially similar in the future.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 Written Statement of 13 March 2018, Spring Statement, HCWS 540, if he will publish a list of where the £185.1 million in EU exit funding for his Department will be allocated.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
BEIS leads on dozens of EU exit issues covering areas such as energy; climate change; nuclear; markets and economy; goods, services and regulation, science and innovation. The allocated funding will allow the Department to negotiate and deliver against each of these issues in 2018/19, including staffing and systems costs and will enable BEIS to be EU exit ready.
The exact allocations across projects will vary depending on the progress of negotiations with the EU. BEIS will not publish a list as this would prejudice those negotiations.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 effect of no deal with the EU on (a) the implementation of the industrial strategy and (b) the ability to secure private research and development investment to achieve the target set out in that strategy.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Our ambitious Industrial Strategy is not dependent on our negotiations with the EU. We do however recognise that EU Exit is a key issue for many sectors of the economy.
The Industrial Strategy builds on our strengths, creating strong foundations to meet the challenges of the future, and will help us make the best of our relations with Europe and beyond.
The Government wants the UK to remain the go-to-place for scientists, innovators and tech investors across the world. We intend to secure the best possible outcome for UK R&D as we exit the European Union and would welcome agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on science, technology and innovation.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received on researchers being excluded from EU research projects as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU; and if he will provide a breakdown of those representations by academia and industry.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes for UK Science and Research as we exit the European Union. Following the referendum we set up a dedicated mailbox (research@beis.gov.uk) to allow academics, researchers and others with an interest to register any issues experienced in engaging with European activities. Since the announcement of the government underwrite of funding, the number of representations received has been low. Stakeholders have largely been in touch to seek clarification – both on the extent of the funding guarantee, and on the eligibility of UK applicants to continue participating in EU research projects after exit – rather than to report cases of discrimination.
The Joint Report, published by the UK and EU negotiating teams on 8th December 2017, and agreed by the European Council, makes clear that, as part of the overall withdrawal agreement, the UK’s right to participate in EU programmes, including Horizon 2020, will be unaffected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. UK based organisations and individuals will be able to bid for funding, participate in and lead consortia for the remainder of the programmes including in 2019 and 2020.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding his Department has allocated to nuclear fusion research to 29 March 2019.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The UK’s publicly funded fusion research is led by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
UKAEA receives grant funding for fusion research from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (£26.1m in 2017/18 and £27.0m in 2018/19). This includes the UK’s share of costs for the Joint European Torus (JET), based in Oxfordshire. The remainder of costs for JET are provided by the Euratom Research and Training Programme. UK Research Council funding is provided from the BEIS budget.
In December 2017 the Government announced an £86m investment to establish a National Fusion Technology Platform, aimed at supporting UK industry in obtaining contracts for international nuclear fusion projects. BEIS has also allocated funding for an upgrade to the domestic fusion project, MAST (£2.5m 17/18).
The UK is a world leader in nuclear R&D and the Government is committed to maintaining and building on our excellence in this important field.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 potential merits of (a) replacing the Emissions Trading System modernisation funding and (b) redirecting investment in coal power stations to clean energy after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Claire Perry
Regarding (a), as the Clean Growth Strategy sets out, the Government is considering the UK’s future participation in the EU Emissions Trading System after our exit from the EU and we remain firmly committed to carbon pricing as an emissions reduction tool. We will seek to ensure that any future approach is at least as ambitious as the existing scheme and provide a smooth transition for the relevant sectors.
Regarding (b), the Government makes no investment in coal power. We have this month set out our proposals for ending unabated coal power generation from 2025. This policy sends a clear signal to investors in new generation capacity that we are moving to a cleaner electricity system, guaranteeing reductions in CO2 and air pollution by 2025.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount of time and (b) resources that his Department allocated to the production of impact assessments on the UK leaving the EU; and on what date work on those impact assessments started.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Impact Assessments, typically related to specific new primary legislation before Parliament, are narrowly defined. For example, the Government laid an impact assessment alongside the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which can be found on our website.
Civil servants conduct any Impact Assessments related to legislation as business as usual. Our broader analysis continues.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to the Sixth Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability, HC443 of Session 2016–17.
Answered by Margot James
The Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office jointly led preparation of the Government’s response, which was passed to the Committee on 13 December. I understand the Committee is to consider and then publish the Government’s response.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what budget has been allocated to research on nuclear fusion up to 29 March 2019.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The UK’s publicly funded fusion research is led by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
UKAEA receives direct funding from the Euratom Research and Training Programme (£57.3 m in 2017/18 and £55.1 m in 2018/19) primarily for research carried out at the Joint European Torus (JET).
UKAEA also receives grant funding for fusion research from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (£26.1m in 2017/18 and £27.0m in 2018/19).
UKAEA also receives additional funding from the UK Government for specific projects which have been worth £5.4m so far in 2017/18. Firm allocations for the financial year 2018/19 and beyond have not yet been made.
The UK is also a member of Fusion for Energy, the EU based partnership delivering its contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the next generation international fusion project in France. The EU expects to contribute €380m in 2018 and €427m in 2019 to ITER. The EU budget beyond 2020 is subject to agreement with EU member states.
Information relating to private sector investment in fusion in the UK is not available.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 domestic regulatory options through the National Grid and Ofgem on allowing merchant gas assets to remain competitive until changes to EU law are implemented.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The UK benefits from a diverse range of gas sources. Merchant gas assets (including gas interconnectors and gas storage assets) play key roles in a flexible energy system and offer significant benefits by facilitating the efficient transport, storage, and trading of gas, and by promoting efficient wholesale prices through increased competition. EU legislation currently underpins the regulation of these merchant assets, with domestic regulation overseen by Ofgem, the independent regulator. The government aims to maximise the benefits of gas interconnection as part of its future relationship with the EU.