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Written Question
Energy: Prices
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of OFGEM's increase of the Headroom Allowance.

Answered by Graham Stuart

The setting of the energy price cap is a matter for the independent regulator Ofgem. Therefore BEIS has made no assessment.

Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Third sitting)

"Will the Minister give way?..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Third sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)

"I beg to move amendment 74, in clause 1, page 1, line 9, at end insert—

“(2A) Subsection (1) does not apply to the following instruments—

(a) The REACH Regulation and the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008,

(b) The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017,

(c) The Conservation of Offshore …..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)

"We now come to the impact of the Bill on laws that fall within the remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Government’s dashboard lists only 570 laws that DEFRA identified as falling in scope of the Bill; that figure alone would make DEFRA the most …..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)

"You will have to intervene if you want me to say it again. Those chemicals are linked to an increased cancer risk, putting our children’s health at risk.

The protective gap between the UK and the EU could become a chasm over the years ahead as the EU takes forward …..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)

"The Minister’s response reflects the scale of the task at DEFRA. Just last week, a question was asked of DEFRA on the topic of pesticide regulations. The Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries responded:

“We are currently working through Defra’s REUL to identify the actions we intend to take before …..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)

"It was interesting to see the proclamations by the right hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth on various aspects. I mentioned the Australia trade deal in my speech, and last week the right hon. Member was very derogatory about the terms of that trade deal for the UK and UK …..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)

"I do not want to rehash the debate we have already had, but we were talking about maybe as many as 500 or more regulations not currently on the dashboard, with effects that we cannot predict. I would not want to be a Minister in the Government staring down the …..."
Alex Sobel - View Speech

View all Alex Sobel (LAB - Leeds Central and Headingley) contributions to the debate on: Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Fourth sitting)
Written Question
Parental Leave: Fathers
Monday 21st November 2022

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help make it easier for fathers to take statutory parental leave.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

In 2019 the Government consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. The Government are currently considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course. As set out in the Government’s Manifesto, the Government is committed to making it easier for fathers to take Paternity Leave.

Written Question
Flexible Working: Parents
Monday 21st November 2022

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help support working parents with flexible working options that can help increase their workplace participation.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

All employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer already have the right to request flexible working.

In 2021, the government consulted on measures that would further support the uptake of flexible working arrangements, including whether to extend the right to request flexible working to employees from their first day of employment. The consultation is now closed, having received over 1,600 responses. We will respond in due course.

The Government is also pleased to be supporting the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill introduced by the Hon. Member for Bolton South East, which passed Second Reading on 28 October.