The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is delivering the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS), worth up to £160 million, to support investment in the port infrastructure needed to deploy large-scale floating offshore wind turbines.

The Government is also working closely with representatives of the port industry to develop a shared understanding of the barriers to port investment and identify the most appropriate future levers to overcome them.

Powering Up Britain – Energy Security Plan sets out the steps the Government is taking to ensure the UK is more energy independent, secure and resilient as well as our goal for Britain to have among the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe by 2035.

The Government has also announced new measures to support Britain’s Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) faced with high electricity prices. The British Industry Supercharger will reduce policy costs by exempting eligible firms from the costs of renewable energy obligations and the GB Capacity Market. It will offer support with network charges and bring an increase in the capacity market exemption, for which we are currently carrying out a public consultation. This is in addition to other ongoing support providing compensation for the indirect costs of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Price Support mechanism.

Through the Green Jobs Delivery Group, the Government is working with industry to evaluate entry routes into green careers for young people.

Flexible training models mean apprenticeships are accessible for all sectors, with ‘career starter’ standards in place to attract more young people.

Local Skills Improvement Plans will embed greater employer engagement in local skills systems in ways that bring the demand and supply sides more closely together and enable a more coherent “whole system” approach to skills planning including in green industries.

The Government has carefully analysed the responses received and is considering how best to ensure the cost relating to energy efficiency improvement are fair and proportionate to landlords and tenants. The Government will publish a response in due course.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has agreed, in principle, to act as a National Regulator for the new regulations on mandatory recycling labelling, which form part of proposed Producer Responsibility Obligations under the Environment Act 2021. No final decision has been made that OPSS shall adopt this enforcement role, but should OPSS become the regulator it will be funded to ensure the necessary resources, including suitably qualified staff, are available.

Trading Standards already have powers to tackle underage sales of products. Where there is evidence of shops selling age restricted products to underage people, this should be reported to Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 or through its website in the first instance.

The Government welcomes Centrica taking the necessary steps to seek approvals to re-open the Rough storage facility this winter. Information on the available capacity of the site is a matter for Centrica.

The Government recognises that the electricity network will require substantial investment and technical evolution to deliver a clean, secure and affordable British energy system. The British Energy Security Strategy includes proposals to accelerate the delivery of network infrastructure. Later this year, the Government and Ofgem will set out their approach to transform the network in more detail through the Electricity Network Strategic Framework.

In November 2020, the Government published the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, which set out the government’s ambition to have two operational industrial clusters by the mid-2020s and a further two clusters operational by 2030. The CCUS programme will contribute to the creation of high skilled, high wage and sustainable jobs in every part of the UK, with the expectation of supporting up to 50,000 jobs in 2030[1]. The Net Zero Strategy outlined an ambition to deploy at least 5MtCO₂/yr of engineered removals by 2030, in line with CCC and National Infrastructure Commission assessments. Our long-term approach to engineered GGR technologies, which includes technologies used by Drax, is to have a market-driven and technology-neutral competitive framework. We intend to assess jobs, the type scale and CO2 emission reduction potential, as part of the evaluation and selection process of GGR projects.

[1] Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener; Green Jobs Taskforce

Under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) to ensure that loans backed by taxpayers’ money are being used in the right way to support businesses and jobs through this difficult time, loans come with restrictions on dividend payments:

• For facilities of up to £50m, dividend payments can continue but may not be increased for as long as any facility under CLBILS remains outstanding.
• For facilities of more than £50 million businesses must agree to restrictions on dividend payments, senior pay and share buy-backs during the period of the loan. These restrictions were introduced on 26 May, when the maximum loan size under CLBILS was extended to £200 million.

For facilities of more than £50 million, until the facility has been repaid in full, borrowers and members of their group cannot:

• Make dividends or other shareholder payments that were not declared before the borrower entered the facility other than in very restricted situations.
• Pay any cash bonuses to senior management, or award any pay rises to senior management except where such pay rise was (i) agreed in writing before the facility was taken out, or (ii) is in keeping with similar payments made in the preceding 12 months, and (iii) does not have a material negative impact on the borrower’s ability to repay the facility. The restriction does not need to apply to pay awards or cash bonuses to be paid to new members of senior management joining the group after the date of the facility but must apply to any subsequent cash bonuses or pay rises awarded to such persons after they have joined the group.

Under the Future Fund, loans advanced under a Convertible Loan Agreement (CLA) cannot be used to pay dividends, pay bonuses or discretionary payments that are non-contracted or not in the ordinary course of business for 12 months, or pay advisory, placement or similar corporate finance type fees in relation to that CLA.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has been introduced to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000. Businesses are not required to bank with a lender in order to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with them.

There are now 18 accredited lenders of the scheme and the British Business Bank is working at pace to accredit more lenders to further extend the Scheme’s reach and provide more choice for businesses. A full list of accredited lenders can be found on the British Business Bank website.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) was launched on 4 May to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.

More than 69,000 Bounce Back Loans worth over £2 billion were approved during the first 24 hours of the scheme. As of 24 May, this has increased to 608,069 loans issued to businesses, worth £18.49 billion.

In order to apply for the scheme, businesses complete a short, simple, online application form, meaning that applications can be submitted and processed rapidly, and loans can be accessed within a matter of days. The Government is providing lenders with a 100% guarantee on each loan to give them the confidence they need to support the smallest businesses in the country.