Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to support the UK manufacturing industry, and (2) to introduce a new post-Brexit industrial policy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is safeguarding and enhancing our manufacturing base by providing substantial funding for projects in important sub-sectors such as aerospace, automotive and life sciences. We have committed nearly £1 billion to fund the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres and the Made Smarter programme.
The Government recognises that for UK manufacturing to remain internationally competitive it must continue investing to keep the sector at the forefront of net zero innovation. We will launch a new Manufacturing Investment Prospectus to showcase UK manufacturing, the policies which demonstrate our commitment to the sector and to help promote investment in UK manufacturing.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they used in the development of the Jet Zero strategy; and in gathering any such evidence, what assessment they made of the risk that sustainable aviation fuels may not have a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions in the medium term.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Jet Zero Strategy was developed considering a wide range of evidence including over 1,500 responses to the Jet Zero Consultation, launched in July 2021, and the Jet Zero: Further Technical Consultation which was published in March 2022. We received consultation responses from members of the public, and a broad spectrum of organisations including from the aviation and aerospace industries, NGOs and environmental groups.
Alongside consultation responses, we considered external evidence produced domestically and internationally, including from the UK Climate Change Committee, the World Economic Forum, the International Council on Clean Transportation, the European Union, the United States and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
This evidence informed policy development, as well as the modelling of four scenarios each with a different mix of technologies to illustrate alternative pathways for reaching net zero aviation by 2050. Within these scenarios, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) account for up to 10% emissions reductions in 2030, and up to 32% in 2040, demonstrating the potential impact of SAF in the medium-term. The range of scenarios modelled aims to reflect the range of potential outcomes, recognising the current early stages of development of new fuels and technologies.
To support the development of a UK SAF industry, through the Jet Zero Strategy we committed to putting a SAF mandate in place with a target of at least 10% SAF in the UK jet fuel mix by 2030; and having at least five UK SAF plants under construction, supported through our £165 million advanced fuel competition.
The nascent nature of decarbonisation technologies means that we do not yet know the optimal technological mix for achieving Jet Zero. We have therefore committed to reviewing our approach every five years and adapting our Strategy if necessary.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much was given in research grants to the (1) steel industry, (2) aerospace industry, and (3) chemical industry, in (a) 2018, and (b) 2021.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold the requested information. Government innovation funding is generally not allocated on a sector-by-sector basis, but is instead targeted towards specific research questions. Many research, development and innovation programmes support multiple sectors, including UK Research and Innovations’s Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge, which includes support for R&D initiatives within the chemicals and metals manufacturing sectors. The Government also invested £685 million of funding the over three years to support green aerospace technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a breakdown of every (a) company and (b) region of the UK that works on the A400M programme; and if he will publish the proportion of work each (a) company and (b) region is responsible for in relation to that programme.
Answered by Alec Shelbrooke
The top-level supply chain in the UK for the A400M airframe, engine and support arrangements is as follows:
• Airbus Defence and Space - Filton, Bristol; RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.
• GKN Aerospace - Filton, Bristol.
• Rolls Royce - Filton, Bristol.
• SAFRAN Landing Systems - Gloucester, Gloucestershire.
• Thales - Crawley, West Sussex.
The UK content of the aircraft is approximately 18% across the airframe and engine.
The supply chain for the A400M is managed by the prime contractor, Airbus Defence and Space and accordingly, the Ministry of Defence does not hold comprehensive information on lower tier suppliers or the proportion of work allocated to each company and region.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement they are they undertaking with the airline industry to cut emissions and meet long term sustainability targets.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport engages regularly and widely with the airline industry, as with many stakeholders, regarding the decarbonisation of UK aviation. Delivery in partnership is a guiding principle of the Jet Zero Strategy, published in July 2022 to set out the Department’s approach for achieving net zero CO2 emissions from UK aviation by 2050.
To support close collaboration between the Government and industry, the Jet Zero Council was established in 2020. The Council brings together senior leaders in aviation, aerospace and academia to drive the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when did each individual Trade Advisory Group last meet.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Each of the 11 Trade Advisory Groups (TAGs) met most recently on the following dates:
Automotive, Aerospace & Marine – 27th April 2022
Agri-Food – 12th May 2022
British Manufactured and Consumer Goods – 23rd June 2022
Chemicals – 19th July 2022
Creative Industries – 21st September 2022
Financial Services – 7th March 2022
Investment – 19th May 2022
Life Sciences – 10th June 2022
Professional Advisory Services – 18th May 2022
Telecoms & Technology – 5th May 2022
Transport Services – 21st June 2022
All TAG members are also invited to attend Advisory Group Updates. The most recent were:
Developing Countries Trading Scheme Update – 1st September 2022
UK – Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement Update – 27th September 2022
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they made an assessment in 2020 of whether limiting their support of UK airlines through access to furlough funding would have an impact on the airlines’ staff numbers and post-pandemic capacity.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The economic impact of the pandemic was widespread across large parts of the economy. It was right that the Government made support available for all businesses that needed it for the whole of the UK. To clarify, any entity with a UK payroll, including airlines, was able to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
When designing and implementing the scheme, the Government carefully considered its impacts on individual sectors and on the economy as a whole, and adapted its approach in response to the changing health and economic context.
In addition to CJRS, the Government provided unprecedented support to the aviation and aerospace sectors throughout Covid-19, with over £12 billion made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, and grants for research and development.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help build partnerships between European and UK businesses.
Answered by Jane Hunt
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State maintains a positive relationship with a range of specialist chambers of commerce focused on business operating between the UK and European partners. In June alone he has spoken with the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce to hear their perspective and to promote partnership between our respective business communities.
The Department is also working to facilitate closer links with European partners in key sectors. In the automotive sector, the German and UK trade associations are collaborating closely, while in the aerospace sector we will this month welcome delegations from across Europe to the Farnborough International Air Show.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the UK's GDP of the Memorandum of Understanding on economic cooperation and trade relations between the US state of Indiana and the UK.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the UK and Indiana builds on the strong existing relationship we have with an economy worth around £306bn, and is the first such MOU to be signed with an individual US state.
This MOU will help us to bolster the over £1 billion worth of goods Indiana already buys from the UK by providing a framework to address market access barriers and increase opportunities for UK and Indiana businesses to invest and create jobs in a variety of sectors such aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and automotives. These sectors were worth a combined £36bn to the UK economy in 2021.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on the UK economy in pounds sterling of the Memorandum of Understanding on economic cooperation and trade relations between the US state of Indiana and the UK over the next 12 months.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the UK and Indiana builds on the strong existing relationship we have with an economy worth around £306bn, and is the first such MOU to be signed with an individual US state.
This MOU will help us to bolster the over £1 billion worth of goods Indiana already buys from the UK by providing a framework to address market access barriers and increase opportunities for UK and Indiana businesses to invest and create jobs in a variety of sectors such aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and automotives. These sectors were worth a combined £36bn to the UK economy in 2021.