Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of job losses in the hospitality and tourism sectors on rural and coastal areas on (1) opportunities for young people to work and (2) the local economy; and what measures they are taking to alleviate these job losses.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the vital importance of the hospitality sector, particularly in rural and coastal areas, in providing employment opportunities for young people and supporting local economies. We have put in place a range of measures to ease cost pressures on the sector, including permanently lowering the business rates multiplier for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, alongside a £4.3 billion business rates support package to protect ratepayers from increases following the revaluation.
Building on this, From April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years. The pub and hotel sector has also raised concerns about valuation, which the government agrees need to be addressed. We are therefore launching a review into how they are valued for business rates.
To go even further, we are more than doubling the Hospitality Support Fund, providing £10 million over three years to help local hospitality businesses diversify, improve productivity, and support people into jobs.
We are also investing significantly in young people's skills and opportunities. This includes £820 million for the Youth Guarantee and £725 million through the Growth and Skills Levy, ensuring young people have the support they need to earn or learn. We will support 50,000 young people into apprenticeships in England by fully funding apprenticeship training costs for all eligible 16-24year-olds, expanding foundation apprenticeships to hospitality, and extending the Destination Hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programme pilot, launched in partnership with UKHospitality.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will undertake a review of the services available at rural post office branches, and what steps they will take to ensure the long-term viability of rural post offices.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Post Offices play an important role in communities across the country, and particularly in rural areas where some branches act as a community hub. We are listening carefully to stakeholders to ensure the whole network, including these important rural branches, is sustainable.
The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens. Government's minimum access criteria for Post Offices mean that 99% of the UK population must be within three miles of their nearest post office outlet and 90% must be within one mile of their nearest post office outlet.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator particularly in relation (1) to permitting them to open an inquiry on their own initiative, and (2) to extending its remit to the dairy sector.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The report on the last statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), which was published in July 2023 concluded that a decision by the GCA to launch an investigation should be based upon some evidence or intelligence of non-compliance. The government will conduct the next statutory review of the GCA next year and all interested parties will have an opportunity to contribute their views.
‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations under the Agriculture Act 2020, including those which have already been introduced to cover the UK dairy sector, will be enforced by the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the Dashboard of Retained EU Law, with particular reference to those instruments (1) to be revoked, or (2) subject to sunset, by 31 December 2023.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel
There are currently 5020 pieces of Retained EU Law (REUL) on the dashboard. This will be updated in January.
At the end of the year around 700 pieces of REUL will be revoked via schedule 1 of the Act (“the revocation schedule”) and subsequent secondary legislation.
Unless it is actively revoked, no REUL will sunset. The Government changed approach from a sunset to the revocation schedule, to provide clarity for business and allow the Government to focus on reform.
Further REUL will be revoked throughout 2024, delivering on our ambition to reduce burdens for business and cut red tape.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what services are currently offered by mobile service Post Offices in rural areas; and whether they will ensure that all services offered by Post Offices, such as such as the ability to deposit cash by small businesses, are replicated.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Government protects the branch network by setting minimum access criteria and protects services, including cash and banking services, by setting minimum services to be provided at post offices across the country. This ensures that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office.
Outreach Post Offices are used in communities or when it is not possible to open a full-time branch due to lack of premises or retailers in the local area. Outreaches provide a full range of services including cash and banking services.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many actions have been brought by small-scale growers of fruit and vegetables against alleged unfair practices pursued by supermarkets following the recent interruptions to the supply chain; and how many of these actions have culminated in fines where growers were found to have been disadvantaged by the supermarkets.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Government does not hold such information. The Groceries Code Adjudicator enforces the Groceries Supply Code of Practice which ensures the 14 largest grocery retailers treat their direct suppliers, including suppliers of fruit and vegetables, lawfully and fairly. Any direct supplier to a regulated retailer that is experiencing issues should contact the GCA whose details are available on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the role of the Grocery Code Adjudicator in investigating unfair practices of supermarkets in relation to small growers of UK fruit and vegetables.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The Groceries Code Adjudicator Small enforces the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) which ensures large grocery retailers treat their direct suppliers, including small growers of fruit and vegetables, lawfully and fairly. The Adjudicator’s functions include the investigation of suspected breaches of the Code.