Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 19 December 2022 on Energy Schemes Update, HCWS466, when he plans to (a) publish details on eligibility and (b) open the portal on gov.uk for Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On 19 December, the Government publicly announced the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vital-help-with-energy-bills-on-the-way-for-millions-more-homes-across-great-britain-and-northern-ireland. The application portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is due to open on gov.uk later this month and will include an overview of eligibility.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
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 is taking to ensure the viability of the Post Office Network.
Answered by Dean Russell
Since 2011/12, the Government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network and is providing a further £335 million for the Post Office over the next three years. Since 2019 the annual network subsidy, which helps to ensure the viability of rural and community branches, has been maintained at £50 million a year and will remain at the same level until 2025.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
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 had discussions with the National Federation of Subpostmasters on pay.
Answered by Dean Russell
The then minister overseeing Postal Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam, attended the National Federation of SubPostmasters conference in May where he heard directly from postmasters about the issues around remuneration.
Although this is an operational matter for Post Office, I recognise how critical these issues are for postmasters and the future of the network and the Department will continue an open dialogue with the Post Office to assess what action can be taken.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
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 is taking to increase the median pay for postmasters.
Answered by Dean Russell
The then minister overseeing Postal Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam, attended the National Federation of SubPostmasters conference in May where he heard directly from postmasters about the issues around remuneration.
Although this is an operational matter for Post Office, I recognise how critical these issues are for postmasters and the future of the network and the Department will continue an open dialogue with the Post Office to assess what action can be taken.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policies of the research compiled by National Federation of Subpostmasters that 70per cent of Postmasters earned less than the national minimum wage in 2021.
Answered by Dean Russell
The then minister overseeing Postal Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam, attended the National Federation of SubPostmasters conference in May where he heard directly from postmasters about the issues around remuneration.
Although this is an operational matter for Post Office, I recognise how critical these issues are for postmasters and the future of the network and the Department will continue an open dialogue with the Post Office to assess what action can be taken.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the travel industry on protecting consumers' rights.
Answered by Paul Scully
BEIS officials hold regular discussions with travel and tourism sector representatives, including ABTA, travel businesses and consumer advocacy bodies. Most recently this has been to assess the impact of cancellations made in light of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government is committed to safeguarding consumers’ rights and protections.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on which date (a) she or (b) a Minister in her Department last visited a company headquartered in Glasgow East constituency.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Since being appointed in July 2019, Ministers in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy have undertaken a programme of visits to Scotland, including a visit to Glasgow by Lord Duncan of Springbank in August.
Additionally, the ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ business readiness events roadshow visited Glasgow on 25 September. Over 100 attendees joined and received advice from across Government on how to prepare their business for Brexit. In an informal survey following the event, over 80% of delegates reported feeling better prepared for Brexit having attended.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will publish (a) the outcome of all meetings and (b) all call logs between Ministers of her Department and Mr Crispin Odey.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Details of ministerial meetings with external bodies are published on the Gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Whirlpool on its online system for the reporting by consumers of tumble dryers which require modification for reasons of safety; and what his understanding is of the timescales involved for consumers once they have made such a report.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Office for Product Safety and Standards has been in regular dialogue with Whirlpool regarding its programme of outreach to consumers. It has been clear with Whirlpool that it expects them to ensure consumers have easy ways of reporting effected dryers and to prioritise their actions to respond to consumers and ensure public safety is maintained.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2019 to Question 264463 on Parental Leave: Childbirth, for how long the consultation will last.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We anticipate the public consultation on options for providing further support to parents of premature, sick and multiple babies will last for 12 weeks. This will be confirmed when the consultation document is published.