Tag: Kevin Brennan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many jobs were lost in the North Sea oil industry in each of the last two years.

Andrea Leadsom

According to figures taken from Oil and Gas UK’s latest Economic Report, it is estimated that over the course of 2015 there was a 15% reduction in jobs to 375,000 across the entire employment spectrum, including direct, indirect and induced jobs. For the previous year OGUK estimated that around 440,000 jobs were supported by the sector.

The Government is committed to supporting industry to avoid further redundancies and helping those who have unfortunately lost their jobs. We are working with the Scottish Energy Jobs Task Force to ensure that employers support those at risk of redundancy helping them to access future opportunities through training, education, and employment. In addition to this, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in January a new Inter-Ministerial Group on oil and gas that will publish a UK Oil and Gas Workforce plan in the Spring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23296, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of (a) public and (b) private sector investment for low-carbon infrastructure and supply chain investment which has been invested in each year for which data is available.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC’s March 2015 Energy Investment Report estimates that total investment in low carbon electricity was £42.1billion between 2010 and 2014. Table 1 below splits this investment out by technology type. Detailed information is not available on how this figure is split between public and private sector investment, though the majority is private sector investment supported by government policies, or how much is invested in the supply chain. In November, the Government renewed its commitment to the transition to a low carbon economy by confirming a continued budget for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The overall budget for the RHI is to rise from £430 million in 2015/16 to £1.15 billion in 2020/21.

Table 1: Estimated investment in low carbon electricity generation capacity for 2010-2014

	Estimated investment in electricity generation capacity in £’s billion (2012 prices)
Electricity generation technology	Total
Onshore Wind1	7.9
Offshore Wind	9.5
Biomass and Bioenergy2	8.8
Marine	0.1
Solar PV3	11.4
Hydro4	0.3
Other Renewable5	1.7
Renewables Generation Capacity Investment	39.6
Nuclear6	2.5
CCS	0.0
Renewables, Nuclear & CCS Generation Capacity Investment	42.1

Source: DECC’s Energy Investment Report March 2015

1 Including large scale onshore wind, but excluding Scottish Islands onshore wind

2 Including dedicated biomass, biomass conversions, bioliquids, energy from waste, anaerobic digestion (including small scale), advanced conversion technologies, landfill and sewage gas (including CHP variations of any of these technologies)

3 Including large and small scale solar PV

4 Including large and small scale hydro technologies

5 Including Scottish Islands onshore wind, small scale onshore wind, and geothermal (including CHP)

6 2010-2014 investment estimate includes the purchase of Horizon Nuclear Power by GE Hitachi, the purchase of the Moorside site by NuGen and expenditures in the period relating to the development of Hinkley Point C

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will conduct an assessment of UK science infrastructure to inform departmental decision-making on spending priorities.

Joseph Johnson

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 April 2016 to Question 32088.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what value and proportion of central government procurement was made by each department in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock

Total central government procurement spend is published as part of the annual reporting of spend with small and medium-sized businesses at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2014-to-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he last reviewed his Department’s industrial strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

At the Science and Technology Select Committee on the science budget and spending review held on Tuesday 19 January my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills stated that he wanted to see sector strategies that were formed under the coalition Government’s industrial strategy refreshed, as those strategies were put in place a number of years ago. My right hon. Friend has had meetings with many of the sector councils to discuss this and will continue to meet with sector councils and others, to consider what more the Government can do to support these industries and their growth.

My right hon. Friend also explained that there is an open door policy from his department to all industries, including newer industries and those that don’t yet have formal sector strategies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the value was of (a) private and (b) public sector investment in the British steel industry in each of the last 10 years.

Anna Soubry

This information is not collected centrally. However, the following are examples of Government investments in the UK metals sector since 2008:

• £8.2 million from the Regional Growth Fund towards a new Tata Steel Europe R&D Centre at Warwick University

• Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) – £12.7 million comprising £6.47 million grant and £6.25 million loan to a consortium of which Tata Steel Europe is a key partner, to develop the “Proving Factory” which specialises in the industrialisation and low-volume production of advanced propulsion systems to automotive standards.
• AMSCI – CASCADE project and consortia of 11 companies led by Tata Steel – awarded grant of £4.6m in April 2015 for development of metal powders and processes for additive manufacturing
• Over £100m in capital projects in universities (through the Research Partnership Investment Fund) in steel, composites, automotive and aerospace, which has leveraged funding from businesses such as Tata, Rolls Royce and JLR.
• Over £100m in EPSRC’s grant programme in metals and alloys
• Innovate UK have provided just under £4m in grants to Tata Steel and a further £2m (with £2m from EPSRC) for SPECIFIC – an innovation and knowledge centre at Swansea University.

Information on private sector investment in the steel industry is not available from official sources.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of his Department’s contracts in the last five years used the largest proportion of British steel.

Mr Philip Dunne

The largest defence equipment procurement project during this period has been the construction of the two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. Updated figures show that the vast majority of structural steel used, some 95,000 tonnes, was manufactured in the UK.

In the main, defence requirements for steel are sourced by our prime contractors taking into account cost, time and quality. UK suppliers have made a significant and valuable contribution to the supply of steel for our major defence programmes. New Government guidelines, which have been implemented in the Ministry of Defence, will also help them compete for future defence projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he had with small businesses and entrepreneurs on the planned closure of the Business Growth Service.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills continues to have discussions with businesses and their representatives. They have told us that there is strong appetite in the private sector to fill the gap in the market and develop sustainable offers of support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government has undertaken an environmental impact assessment of its policy to privatise the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

As set out in the answer to question 22471 on 18 January, the Government is moving UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) into private ownership so it can continue operating in the same way it does now only funded with private capital rather than relying on taxpayers’ support. The detailed background and supporting case for this move was set out in the policy statement we published on 18 November. Decisions on the proposed sale are being taken in accordance with best practice to ensure all available options are properly examined in a detailed business case and that a robust valuation process is followed. The process does not involve preparation of an environmental impact assessment as we do not envisage any direct environmental or regulatory impacts of a majority sale of GIB, or changes to pre-existing policy goals for GIB.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of exit payments in the (a) private sector and (b) public sector in the last 20 years.

Greg Hands

The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on the potential impacts of the cap and sets out which organisations the Government intends to capture within scope of the public sector exit payment cap. The final policy is in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The consultation ran from 31 July to 27 August 2015. Over 4000 responses were received. These representations were considered during and after the consultation to inform the Government response that was published on 16 September 2015.

The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

An impact analysis was published within the exit payment cap consultation document which respondents had an opportunity to comment on. Further, the Government worked with departments and took into account consultation responses received after the official deadline to inform the impact of a public sector exit payment cap set at £95,000 in different sectors and for different categories of workers. This assessment gave due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty.

The exit payment cap is intended to capture organisations classified as public sector by the Office for National Statistics with few exceptions as identified in the consultation response.

The Government does not expect the cap to have a widespread impact on the take-up of voluntary redundancy.

At the 2015 Spending Review the Government announced it will consult on further cross public sector action on exit payment terms. This consultation will provide a good opportunity to collect further information on the trends in the level of exit payments between the private and public sector.