Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) discussions they have had with, and (2) guidance they have provided to, employers about ways to support employees to be healthier whilst they are at work.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government and arm’s length bodies, including the Health and Safety Executive and Acas, work with a range of stakeholders to equip employers with the knowledge and confidence to support health in the workplace. This includes help to adapt workplaces and working practices and provide inclusive working environments.
In 2019, Public Health England and Business in the Community published online toolkits to help employers support staff mental and physical health. We continue to work with Business Leaders via the ‘Thriving at Work Leadership Council' to promote mental health resources available online. In ‘Health is Everyone’s Business’ we consulted on proposals to support employers to prevent health-related job loss, including by expanding access to occupational health services. We anticipate that a response will be available by the end of the year.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase (1) support for mentoring services and (2) the number of businesses and public sector organisations participating in mentoring programs.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We aim to make the UK the best place to start, grow and run a business. The Government provides a wide range of support and information for small businesses. The main source of information is the GOV.UK website, with support also available via the Business Support Helpline on FREEPHONE 0800 998 1098 and via the network of 38 local Growth Hubs in England.
We also provide grant funding to Be the Business, a business-led independent charity. Be the Business is delivering executive leadership and management training, expert mentoring, place-based collaborative peer networks and free online advice and benchmarking tools, including around digitalisation, to help SMEs identify practical steps to transform their business.
For those starting a new business or for businesses which have been trading for up to 24 months, the Start Up Loans Company provides loans of between £500 to £25,000 at a competitive rate of 6%. In addition to finance, every loan recipient is offered a dedicated mentoring service and access to a free expert business mentor for 12 months to help them with every aspect of setting up a business.
There are 2,000 places available on the Small Business Leadership Programme which is being delivered by experts from university business schools and will teach participants how to maximise their business’s potential by improving productivity, organisation, and efficiency. There are also 6,000 places on the Peer Networks programme which is focused on helping business owners improve their problem-solving skills through a series of guided exercises.
Further measures include the Young Innovators Programme, launched by Innovate UK and the Prince’s Trust to support young entrepreneurs with tailored mentoring and access to £5,000 funding. Innovate UK have also established the Women in Innovation awards, where 10 female inventors will be awarded with a cash boost of £50,000 each, as well as receive vital business support to help them develop and grow their business, including coaching and mentoring.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of a link between COVID-19 mortality and obesity, what plans they have to accelerate work on the National Food Strategy.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In 2019, the Government asked Henry Dimbleby to carry out an independent review of the entire food sector. Part One of that review was published in July 2020 with a chapter on health highlighting the link between obesity and Covid-19 mortality. Part Two of the independent review will be published in 2021 and will continue to address the challenges associated with supporting people to eat a healthy diet. The Government has committed to responding to the review and its recommendations in the form of a Food Strategy White Paper within six months of the release of the second and final report.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support global nutrition beyond the Nutrition for Growth Commitments.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Prevention and treatment of malnutrition remains a priority for the UK as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. The FCDO remains committed to working closely with the Government of Japan to make sure the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit generates meaningful action by governments, donors, businesses, the UN and civil society. We are looking carefully at options for a new UK commitment?post-2020?and will provide an update on our plans?in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when an update report from the Women's Business Council will be published; and whether the work of the Council will address issues regarding female entrepreneurship in addition to its work on the gender pay gap.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the work of the Women’s Business Council, has been paused. This was to enable the Government to focus on managing the crisis. In light of these exceptional circumstances, there are no plans for an annual report from the Council in 2020.
As the Government now moves to introduce a raft of business recovery measures, I have been speaking to a wide range of individuals, including female entrepreneurs and the Chair of the Women’s Business Council. I have been keen to get their insight into, and their support on, how best to improve opportunities for women in the world of work, as well as how to stimulate increased female entrepreneurship right across the country.
Unlocking women’s potential is a key priority following the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and I remain committed to helping more women to start and expand their own businesses.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the COVID-19 pandemic, what actions and changes the Rose Review Board intends to recommend (1) to support, and (2) to increase the number of, female entrepreneurs.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
In response to the Alison Rose Review on Female Entrepreneurship, the government set its ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 600,000 by 2030. The government is working closely with industry to implement the recommendations of the Rose Review and will engage with further actions proposed by the Board.
HM Treasury launched the Investing in Women Code in 2019 to promote greater transparency in UK funding allocation, and the Code now has over 60 signatories from a wide range of financial institutions. Other actions include the industry-led Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs who coordinate industry action to increase investments in female-led firms and the work of industry partners launching new investment vehicles to encourage UK based institutional and private investors to further support and invest in female entrepreneurs.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed annually on 3 December around the world. It aims to increase awareness of disability issues and to promote the rights and well-being of disabled people.
The Government supports these aims and will mark the day through various activities. We will provide more details in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with faith leaders about piloting the opening of places of worship in advance of step 3 of their plan to lift restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic being in place.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Following publication on 11 May of “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which outlined the steps we would be taking to ease the lockdown restrictions, the Government launched a Places of Worship Taskforce to look at how places of worship can reopen and operate safely.
The Secretary of State and I have held a series of meetings with the Taskforce as well as holding faith-specific roundtables to hear the views of our faith leaders on how our places of worship can reopen. This is to ensure that those who visit and those who work there are protected as far as possible. The Government is working with the Taskforce as we develop guidance for our faith communities on the safe reopening of our places of worship. This will include guidance on individual prayer, and services and ceremonies such as weddings. This will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with faith leaders about the provision of all services and events in places of worship once those places are reopened.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Following publication on 11 May of “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which outlined the steps we would be taking to ease the lockdown restrictions, the Government launched a Places of Worship Taskforce to look at how places of worship can reopen and operate safely.
The Secretary of State and I have held a series of meetings with the Taskforce as well as holding faith-specific roundtables to hear the views of our faith leaders on how our places of worship can reopen. This is to ensure that those who visit and those who work there are protected as far as possible. The Government is working with the Taskforce as we develop guidance for our faith communities on the safe reopening of our places of worship. This will include guidance on individual prayer, and services and ceremonies such as weddings. This will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Mone (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the publication of Our plan to rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy on 11 May, what discussions they have had with faith leaders about the number of people who will be permitted to gather in places of worship for services and events.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Following publication on 11 May of “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which outlined the steps we would be taking to ease the lockdown restrictions, the Government launched a Places of Worship Taskforce to look at how places of worship can reopen and operate safely.
The Secretary of State and I have held a series of meetings with the Taskforce as well as holding faith-specific roundtables to hear the views of our faith leaders on how our places of worship can reopen. This is to ensure that those who visit and those who work there are protected as far as possible. The Government is working with the Taskforce as we develop guidance for our faith communities on the safe reopening of our places of worship. This will include guidance on individual prayer, and services and ceremonies such as weddings. This will be published in due course.