Through the Industrial Strategy we have committed to reaching the target of 2.4% of GDP investment in R&D by 2027, and 3% in the longer term. Achieving this ambition would provide a strong platform to transform the economy by enabling the development of new technologies, industries and products that bring new growth, good jobs, and a wide range of social improvements.

Reaching the 2.4% target will require concerted effort both for government and for business. Public investment will play an essential role in achieving the target, but this will also require a commitment from the private sector to invest substantially. Health-related Research and Development will be a vital element of our plan for reaching the ambition. We will publish a Roadmap for achieving the ambition, following the Spending Review. The Roadmap will explore the full range of policy measures that could encourage additional private investment in R&D.

Through the Industrial Strategy we have committed to reaching the target of 2.4% of GDP investment in R&D by 2027, and 3% in the longer term. Achieving this ambition would provide a strong platform to transform the economy by enabling the development of new technologies, industries and products that bring new growth, good jobs, and a wide range of social improvements.

Reaching the 2.4% target will require concerted effort both for government and for business. Public investment will play an essential role in achieving the target, but this will also require a commitment from the private sector to invest substantially. Health-related Research and Development will be a vital element of our plan for reaching the ambition. We will publish a Roadmap for achieving the ambition, following the Spending Review. The Roadmap will explore the full range of policy measures that could encourage additional private investment in R&D.

Through the Industrial Strategy we have committed to reaching the target of 2.4% of GDP investment in R&D by 2027, and 3% in the longer term. Achieving this ambition would provide a strong platform to transform the economy by enabling the development of new technologies, industries and products that bring new growth, good jobs, and a wide range of social improvements.

Reaching the 2.4% target will require concerted effort both for government and for business. Public investment will play an essential role in achieving the target, but this will also require a commitment from the private sector to invest substantially. Health-related Research and Development will be a vital element of our plan for reaching the ambition. We will publish a Roadmap for achieving the ambition, following the Spending Review. The Roadmap will explore the full range of policy measures that could encourage additional private investment in R&D.

We are increasing spending on R&D by £7 billion over 5 years by 2021-22. This will be the largest increase ever. The government has acknowledged the importance of investment in medical and health R&D to the continued health of the UK and to the continued excellence of our healthcare system. The government’s commitment to this is laid out in the Industrial Strategy and the life science sector deal.

The Government funds health related R&D primarily through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Within UKRI the main funder of health related research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). However, all of UKRI’s councils fund projects that are connected to health e.g. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) which has strategic investments in both human and animal health (including long term institute programmes at the Babraham Institute, the Quadram Institute and The Pirbright Institute). Innovate UK also supports business led innovation in healthcare and is involved in wider cross cutting UKRI programmes such as the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund which has several challenges related to healthcare including the £210 million ‘Data to Early Diagnosis’ Challenge.

UKRI funding decisions are based on the quality of applications, balancing this against wider opportunities and allowing for investigator-led proposals to inform priorities. As such, a total number for spending on health R&D is not available for 2019.

NIHR and MRC have budgets for 2019 of £1,078 million and £745 million respectively.

Allocations for 2020 onwards are subject to the Spending Review.

HM Government has no plans to amend current legislation on digital content. However, the Government has committed to retaining strong protections for consumers post Brexit.

UKRI funding decisions are made on the basis of the excellence of the proposals that are received, and any academic partnerships which strengthens applications and delivers such excellence are encouraged. UKRI does not ask applicants about their political views or activity, or those of the employing organisation. UKRI has clear eligibility criteria and EDI policy principles which the organisations we fund are expected to meet.

We have no current plans to establish a national fuel fund.

The Government provides support to those struggling with their gas and electricity bills through:

• The Warm Home Discount, which provides a £140 rebate to more than two million households;

• Winter Fuel Payments, that provides £200-300 to pensioners, ensuring that they can keep warm during the colder months; and

• Cold Weather Payments, which were automatically provided to more than one million households during winter 2018-19.

In addition, the default tariff cap protects all consumers on default tariffs from being overcharged and Ofgem’s safeguard price cap protects consumers on pre-payment meter tariffs.

The most sustainable approach to decreasing energy bills is improving energy efficiency.

• The Energy Company Obligation drives £640 million of investment annually into improving the efficiency of low income and vulnerable households.

• The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards require landlords spend up to £3500 (including VAT) improving their rented properties to EPC Band E.

Since its creation in July 2016, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published 140 consultations.

*6 consultations are still open. 8 consultations are closed, but still within the 12 week period.

The Government is committed to making sure consumers have secure, affordable and clean energy now and in the future.

The Capacity Market secures the capacity required to meet peak demand, including demand for electric vehicles, in a range of scenarios through auctions held four- and one-year ahead of delivery. Although currently in a standstill period, the Capacity Market has already procured the bulk of the electricity capacity we need up to 2022.

In addition, the Government has taken powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 to mandate that charge points sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled – allowing demand for charging of electric vehicles to be shifted, where appropriate, to off-peak times.

Finally, Ofgem regulates network companies to ensure that they deliver a safe, reliable network whilst investing for the future and providing value for money for consumers. This includes ensuring that networks can reliably deliver the energy that consumers need, including for charging electric vehicles.

Government has published several assessments regarding the UK’s security of gas supply. The assessments include: CEPA’s Security of Supply report (2017), the Strategic Assessment and Review by BEIS (2017) and the UK National Risk Assessment on Security of Supply (2018), as well as the annual Statutory Security of Supply Report (most recent, 2018).

These assessments conclude that current and forecast levels of GB supply and storage infrastructure are sufficient to meet demand in all but the most extreme cases of supply disruption.

The Government is committed to a cohesive society where everyone   can enter and progress at work and achieve on merit, whatever their background.

The Government consulted on how best to implement mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. We received over 300 detailed responses and will set out next steps in due course.

The Government has also launched the Race at Work Charter which commits signatories to effective practices that support fairness at work. Over 170 employers have signed up to date.

The fall in productivity in 2019 Q1 was predominantly due to a fall in manufacturing productivity of -0.9%. Productivity in the services sector grew by 0.2% over the same period. A similar pattern was observed in 2018 Q4, with services productivity outperforming manufacturing; growing by 0.4% compared to a fall of -1.1% for the latter.

In terms of international comparisons, based on OECD data, all G7 countries excluding the US (for which data are not yet available) experienced a slowdown in productivity growth in 2018. The UK's productivity growth rate of just over 0.5% in 2018, was the second highest in the G7.

The Companies Act (2006) requires companies to keep a register of members and enter the details of members in this register. In the UK, a shareholder is defined as the member on the company’s register of members. In some cases, the shareholder is also the beneficial owner of the shares. The Government has no plans to require beneficial share owners to be included on shareholder registers.

The UK’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), with support from the UK Hydrological Adviser, was actively engaged in discussions at the World Meteorological Congress in June 2019, promoting efficiency and transparency in the intergovernmental agreements on the budget and reform of WMO. The UK remain closely involved in the hydrological work of WMO, with the UK Hydrological Adviser promoting the establishment of appropriate links between WMO and UNESCO, supported by his role as vice-chair of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme.

The Government has a clear policy to close all unabated coal power generation by 2025. Decisions on the reuse of the sites of former coal-fired power stations will be for the commercial owners or operators.

The energy regulator Ofgem, monitors and publishes data on households who disconnect their energy supplies due to cost, which includes data from their annual Consumer Engagement Survey and from the Citizens Advice self disconnection consumer survey.

Following a call for evidence, Ofgem is undertaking a review of households who disconnect their energy supplies due to cost and has requested that energy companies provide additional information and data to help their analysis. They will publish their response this summer.

Government has given Ofgem, the independent GB energy regulator, a statutory duty to protect the interests of vulnerable consumers, with the regulator enforcing rules to protect consumers at risk of debt and disconnection.

Following a call for evidence, Ofgem is undertaking a review of households who disconnect their energy supplies due to cost and has requested that energy companies provide additional information and data to help their analysis. They will publish their response this summer. Government will consider the findings of this review and the potential impact more detailed information about self disconnection could have on how we target fuel poverty policies, such as the Warm Home Discount and ECO Local Authority Flexible Eligibility.

The Government’s long-term commitment to drive productivity in the construction industry includes support for civil engineering through the UK’s National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline, which is worth over £400bn of planned public and private investment in nearly 700 projects, programmes and other investments. This includes around £190bn to be invested by 2020/21. It is estimated the next decade will see over £600bn of public and private investments in infrastructure. The National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) has also been increased to £37bn and has been extended by another year until 2023-24. The NPIF is the cornerstone of the Government’s plan to boost growth in areas critical to productivity.

The investments we are making from the Construction Sector Deal to transform the sector’s productivity includes our commitment to invest £170m, matched by £250m from industry in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) in the Transforming Construction: Manufacturing Better Buildings programme. The programme will improve productivity through promoting the development and commercialisation of digital, manufacturing, energy generation and storage technologies for the construction and built environment sectors. The Transforming Construction programme will also promote a range of R&D and demonstration projects through cross sector collaboration; and £72m will be invested in the Transforming Construction Alliance – a consortium of the Centre for Digital Built Britain, the Manufacturing Technology Centre and the Building Research Establishment to support collaboration. The sector deal will aim to create a new business model, driven by investment, and embedded throughout the UK.

The Government is committed to working with the business community to create more inclusive workplaces from the shop floor to the boardroom. The Government has commissioned and supports several business-led, independent reviews on promoting diversity, including the Hampton-Alexander Review to increase the representation of women on boards and in senior leadership positions in FTSE 350 companies to 33% by 2020 and the Parker Review to increase the ethnic diversity of FTSE 350 boards by 2024.

These reviews form part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy which aims to build an economy that works for all.

The statistics recently published by the Hampton-Alexander Review on 1^st July, show that the business-led approach to creating more balanced boards is working, as the representation of women on FTSE 100 boards has risen to 32.1% from 12.5% in 2011. The number of all-male boards across the FTSE 350 is also down to four from 152 in 2011. The Government has no plans to introduce legislation to require equal numbers of men and women at board level.