Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to exempt trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories from the free trade agreement being negotiated with Israel.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The government’s position is clear that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law
Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the Palestinian Authority. This will not change in an upgraded free trade agreement with Israel.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with D&D London on the closure of 35 TGI Fridays branches.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We understand that this will be a concerning time for workers at TGI Fridays, and we stand ready to support those impacted. Affected employees will be able to access Government support, including Universal Credit and Job Centre Plus to help them find new jobs, through its Rapid Response Service. DBT officials are monitoring developments and are in touch with administrators.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support women with flexible working.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Through the recently introduced Employment Rights Bill, we are amending existing legislation to ensure employers accept flexible working requests, except where they are not reasonably feasible. These changes will support employees to access flexible working, including women. We know flexible working is particularly important supporting women who combine work with caring responsibilities.