Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it his policy to introduce a statutory right for disability support leave for disabled employees.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory right for disability support leave for disabled employees.
All employers already have a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and providing guidance on reasonable adjustments.
For disabled people who require adjustments which are beyond reasonable adjustments, Access to Work (AtW) can provide a grant for the disability related extra costs of working a disabled employee may face. To support employers an AtW case manager will contact the customer’s employer ahead of making an AtW award to offer advice on reasonable adjustments an employer can provide and the support available under the AtW scheme.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring that private residential tenants have the right to request that an energy meter compliant with the European Measuring Instruments Directive is installed in the property where they live.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Legislation is in place, under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Gas Act 1986, which requires all meters used for billing purposes to be approved. This includes sub meters used for secondary billing, such as in a landlord-tenant situation. This means that the government has already ensured that where landlords intend to bill their tenants, approved meters must be used.
Meters in use will have been required to demonstrate compliance with the UK Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016 which implement the relevant requirements of the European Measuring Instruments Directive, or earlier GB national legislation if their installation pre-dates that legislation.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring that private rental residential landlords provide energy meters that are compliant with the European Measuring Instruments Directive for each property they let.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Legislation is in place, under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Gas Act 1986, which requires all meters used for billing purposes to be approved. This includes sub meters used for secondary billing, such as in a landlord-tenant situation. This means that the government has already ensured that where landlords intend to bill their tenants, approved meters must be used.
Meters in use will have been required to demonstrate compliance with the UK Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016 which implement the relevant requirements of the European Measuring Instruments Directive, or earlier GB national legislation if their installation pre-dates that legislation.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her oral answer of 30 November 2023 on Arms Export Licences: Israel, Official Report column 1050, if her Department will publish the (a) classification and description of the goods, (b) stated end use and (c) licence type including (i) direct transfers and (ii) transfers via third countries of the 114 standard individual export licences granted for sale of military goods to Israel last year.
Answered by Greg Hands
HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics on GOV.UK, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data also specifies whether the goods covered by a particular licence are for ultimate use by the destination country or whether the goods are due to be incorporated into another product for use by a third-party destination (ie incorporation licences).
This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.
The most recent publication was on 30th August 2023, and covered the period 1st January – 31st March 2023. Information covering 1st April – 30th June 2023 will be published on 16th January 2024.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if her Department will publish an assessment of whether UK-produced military goods components have been used in military activity in the (a) Israel-Hamas conflict and (b) West Bank since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Greg Hands
The government continues to monitor closely the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria.
Licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, or refuse new licence applications, as circumstances require.
In the event such decisions were taken, for any licences, we would issue a Notification to Exporters.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has held discussions with the Scottish Government on the impact of measures to control firework sale and use under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Articles Act (Scotland) 2022.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The UK Government has held discussions with the Scottish Government on the impact of measures to control firework sale and use under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 and we continue to engage with them on this matter.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has held discussions with the German government on the impact of firework free zones on firework sale and use in Germany.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Department for Business and Trade has not held discussions with the German Government on the impact of fireworks free zones on firework sale and use in Germany.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage employers to offer (a) leave and (b) pay for neonatal care before the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 comes into force.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government is committed to introducing Neonatal Care Leave and Pay as soon as possible. Once in place, up to 12 weeks of paid leave will be available to all eligible parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care.
The Government encourages employers to respond with compassion and understanding to any employee who is dealing with the challenge of having a child in neonatal care. It will be up to individual employers to consider whether they can offer leave or pay to their employees before the Act comes into force.