Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish a Heat and Building Strategy.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in the BEIS Select Committee on 20th July 2021, the Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course. The strategy will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings, as well as our approach to the key strategic decisions needed to achieve a mass transition to low-carbon heat.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department intends to require large (a) private and (b) public companies to make disclosures on Scope 3 emissions.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government supports the role of corporate transparency as an important part of delivering net zero. Indeed, the UK has led global efforts in introducing measures to increase corporate transparency, and in 2013 was the first country to make it compulsory for quoted companies to include global emissions data for their entire organisation in their annual reports; and in April 2019, these reporting requirements have been extended with the introduction of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Regulations, increasing tenfold the number of businesses required to publicly disclose their direct energy use and carbon emissions in annual reports.
Many businesses already measure and report their indirect/Scope 3 carbon emissions information under a range of voluntary schemes, and as part of the recently published consultation on Mandatory Climate-related Financial Disclosures, we sought views on whether Scope 3 emissions reporting should remain voluntary. The consultation closed on 5 May, and we are now considering carefully all of the responses to the consultation and a response will be published by the end of the year.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from energy providers based overseas on the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on their investment plans in the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of the most open environments for investment across the world. According to the OECD, the UK is the third least restrictive nation amongst the G20. The UK-EU agreement will provide certainty and transparency to EU investors operating in the UK, and vice-versa.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to seek a future agreement with the EU on energy markets.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The free trade agreement with the EU provides for cooperation on a range of energy matters in order to support and strengthen the UK and EU’s shared energy objectives. The UK and the EU are committed to cooperating closely on efficient trading, energy markets and access to networks. Other matters for cooperation include security of supply, future energy systems and the prevention of market abuse.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from investors on the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK shareholder’s voting rights in EU registered companies.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have not had any representations from stakeholders on UK shareholder’s voting rights in EU registered companies.
UK investors and business owners should be aware that there may be changes to their ability to own, manage or direct a company registered in the EU from 1 January 2021. UK citizens that own or run business operations in an EU country may need to comply with different requirements (those which currently apply to other businesses from non-EU countries) in the country they are operating in. More information on this can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend employment law in response to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Paul Scully
As an independent, sovereign nation we are now ideally placed to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities available to us.
Commitments made in this trade agreement recognise our existing regulatory high standards. We have committed to maintain our high labour standards, whilst retaining flexibility for us to tailor our approach to what works for the UK. We want to go further than ever before to uphold workers’ rights, support UK businesses and ultimately boost productivity in the UK.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) civil service and (b) senior civil service positions his Department has created in functions associated with the UK leaving the EU in each year since 2016; and whether his Department plans to create any such positions in 2021.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In 2016, the Department reprioritised an initial 100 staff (6 SCS) to work directly on EU exit preparations with more staff managing the wider implications of EU exit.
In 2017, a total of 450 staff (27 SCS) were working on EU exit preparations.
Between 2018-2020, HM Treasury funded ~850 staff (~50 SCS) to support EU exit and transition preparations. The wider number of staff involved in the Department’s preparations has fluctuated, with up to 1200 staff (~70 SCS) working on emerging EU Transition priorities.
We are in the process of implementing the Spending Review outcome for 2021-22 and have no plans to create new EU exit positions.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the appropriateness of the eight week notice period mothers on maternity leave must give employers before returning to work and being placed on the Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
Maternity Leave is provided to enable employed pregnant women and new mothers to prepare for and recover from birth and bond with their child.
The eight week notice period for women returning to work before the end of Maternity Leave enables employers to plan around a woman’s return to work. This may include consideration of whether the individual should be placed on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), depending on the employer’s circumstances. The decision to furlough an employee is something that needs to be agreed between the employer and employee.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether mothers returning from maternity leave before the 31 Oct 2020 and were made redundant due to the original end date of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be eligible to be rehired over winter 2020-21.
Answered by Paul Scully
Employees that are made redundant or stopped working for an employer on or after 23 September 2020 can rehired and put back on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), provided that the employee was employed on 23 September 2020 and a PAYE RTI submission was made to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and October 2020.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the accrual of annual leave by mothers on maternity leave for women who have been furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has been clear that employment rights remain unchanged under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Therefore, workers who are both on maternity leave and on furlough will continue to accrue annual leave as they would if they were not on furlough.