Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including Companies House in the Data Protection Act 2018 to ensure that personal details are presented accurately.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is currently undertaking work with a view to introducing new powers and functions which will enable the Registrar of Companies to better support the UK business environment. This will include a new function to maintain the integrity of the Register. It is one of a number of proposals set out in the recent White Paper on Reform of Companies House, which the Government intends to bring into force through appropriate legislation in the next session of this Parliament.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions officials in his Department have had with retailers on safety in relation to the sale of gas safe products.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The installation and maintenance of gas appliances in domestic and commercial settings must only be undertaken by a suitably qualified and competent Gas Safe registered engineer. The Health and Safety Executive manages the delivery of the Gas Safe Register. Those on the Register are issued with a Gas Safe ID card that contains a list of the qualifications the engineer holds – this can be checked online by members of the public.
There are currently no plans to restrict the purchase of appliances to registered installers or for a voluntary scheme for checking purchasers’ Gas Safe ID cards at the point of purchase. The Government meets regularly with trade associations of installers and manufacturers of gas appliances, such as the Fuel Industry Association and the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, but does not, as a matter of course, hold regular meetings with retailers on the sale of gas appliances.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if officials in his Department will hold discussions with retailers of products that require installation by a gas safe engineer on the creation of a voluntary scheme for checking purchasers' gas safe ID cards.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The installation and maintenance of gas appliances in domestic and commercial settings must only be undertaken by a suitably qualified and competent Gas Safe registered engineer. The Health and Safety Executive manages the delivery of the Gas Safe Register. Those on the Register are issued with a Gas Safe ID card that contains a list of the qualifications the engineer holds – this can be checked online by members of the public.
There are currently no plans to restrict the purchase of appliances to registered installers or for a voluntary scheme for checking purchasers’ Gas Safe ID cards at the point of purchase. The Government meets regularly with trade associations of installers and manufacturers of gas appliances, such as the Fuel Industry Association and the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, but does not, as a matter of course, hold regular meetings with retailers on the sale of gas appliances.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with Ofgem to ensure that rural areas are not disadvantaged by comparison to urban areas during the Smart Meter roll-out.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government wants households and small businesses to benefit from smart metering and is working closely with Ofgem on the smart meter rollout. The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the national communications infrastructure for smart metering, is obligated under the conditions of its licence to provide communications coverage to at least 99.25% of premises. The DCC also has a licence condition to strive to achieve 100% coverage where it is technically practicable and cost proportionate. Ofgem is responsible for regulating the DCC.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of Post Office Ltd. on ensuring that equipment provided by (a) Outreach and (b) Sub-Postmasters is adequate.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government sets the parameters for the Post Office to operate and asks management to operate commercially at arms-length from Government. BEIS continues to have oversight of the Post Office from a policy perspective and UKGI oversees Post Office’s corporate governance and strategy on behalf of the shareholder.
There remains regular dialogue between BEIS, UKGI and Post Office which includes monthly meetings between Post Office and I, as well as formal quarterly shareholder meetings between BEIS, UKGI and Post Office to discuss financial performance and various live issues. Decisions made by Post Office relating to the operation of branches are regularly discussed, and challenged by the Government when appropriate, through these channels.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
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 Russia's suspension from The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and The Forest Stewardship Council, what steps his Department is taking to (a) stabilise the market in wood pellets for biomass boilers, and (b) support the supply of wood pellets for biomass boilers from sources other then Russia.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government will be working with industry to mitigate the impact of Russia’s suspension and to ensure continuity of the supply of wood pellets in the market.
The UK government intends to publish a new biomass strategy later this year. This will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK and how it could be best utilised across the economy to help achieve the Government's net zero and wider environmental commitments.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent ombudsman to review compensation requests made by victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal that have been rejected.
Answered by Paul Scully
When establishing the Historical Shortfall Scheme, the Post Office engaged with the claimants in the settled litigation, to inform the design of the scheme, and the scheme already includes an independent advisory panel with appropriately qualified individuals to make recommendations on compensation. The Panel is completely independent of both Post Office and of Government. The Scheme received around 2,500 claims, of which over 2,300 were eligible applications and Post Office is working to make offers on the overwhelming majority of applications, (95%), by the end of 2022.
Regarding overturned historical convictions, POL is committed to paying the reasonable legal costs of the claimants’ representatives to ensure that they are properly supported to put forward their best possible case for compensation.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
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 strengthen the relationship between representatives of Post Office Ltd and the victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Post Office is continuing its efforts to right the wrongs of the past. This includes delivering compensation via the Historical Shortfall Scheme and compensation for postmasters with overturned criminal convictions – thereby resetting its relationship with postmasters who have been affected by the Horizon scandal.
The Government is closely monitoring the Post Office’s progress on delivering compensation in both areas.