Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) he or (b) any other ministers in his Department have met with any Russian-based companies since 24 February 2022.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
Data for January to March 2022 will be published shortly.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the UK has a strong disaster risk disclosure for UK licenced companies that work internationally.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK has responded to the growing demand for non-financial information in UK corporate reporting, by introducing measures to increase and improve the public disclosures entities make. In 2013, the UK introduced the requirement for certain entities to produce a strategic report, an ambitious change which required directors and boards to take a broad range of issues into account in the running of their company, including on social and environmental matters.
These requirements were expanded in 2016, through the introduction of additional disclosure requirements for all large Public Interest Entities (PIEs), to require a description of the principal risks relating to social and environmental matters. In addition to this, and where relevant, the entity must also include a description of the business relationships, products and services which are likely to cause adverse impacts on risks relating to social and environmental matters, and provide a description of how the entity manages those risks.
More recently, in 2022, the UK became the first country in the G20 to mandate large public and private businesses to report their climate-related financial disclosures in line with the framework set out by the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure, including their exposures to climate change-based risks.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in his Department.
Answered by George Freeman
The number of staff working in BEIS to deliver the communications functions currently is 104. Eighty seven are employed on full time contracts, 14 are employed on part time. 3 have flexible working arrangements.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spends on the employment of communications staff annually.
Answered by George Freeman
The pay cost of communications staff for the financial year 2021 to 2022 is £6.86m. This covers all areas of the Communications team – Press Office, Strategic Comms, External Affairs, Digital Comms, Marketing, Internal Comms, administrative support and the BEIS public enquiry contact centre.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the role of HMRC reference numbers was in the delivery of coronavirus Bounce Back Loans.
Answered by Paul Scully
Working with government, the British Business Bank introduced a turnover check for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme which used HMRC data to enable lenders to voluntarily verify whether turnovers provided by businesses on BBLS application forms were accurate. This was put in place from December 2020 and was one of a number of additional checks introduced after the launch of the scheme.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
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 its Heat and Buildings strategy.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
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: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
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 consulted representatives from the night time economy sector on the effect of covid-19 restrictions on that sector; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises the impact COVID-19 has had on night time economy businesses. Both BEIS and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have worked closely with the sector throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have introduced an extensive package of support accessible to night time economy business, including the furlough scheme, which has been extended until March 2021, Local Restrictions Support Grants of up to £3000 per month, as well as loans, business rates relief and imposing a moratorium on the forfeiture of a lease for non-payment of rent until 31 December in England and Wales. In addition, so far over £500m of direct grants from the £1.57bn Cultural Relief Fund have helped 3000 cultural organisations, including nightclubs such as Ministry of Sound, Fabric and MADE Festival.