Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the total number of jobs in the UK in the supply chains of the (a) aerospace sector and (b) automotive sector.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Based on employment data and employment multipliers supplied by the Office for National Statistics we estimate the following number of direct jobs in the automotive and aerospace sectors themselves and additionally the number of indirect jobs in their respective UK supply chains in 2017.
We define supply chain jobs as those in other areas of the UK economy supported by the demand created by domestic purchases of goods and services made by the sector in question.
| Direct jobs 2017 (‘000s) | Indirect jobs 2017 (‘000s) |
Aerospace | 121 | 153 |
Automotive | 179 | 269 |
Sources: ONS Employee Jobs and Self-Employed Jobs, ONS Employment Multipliers
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
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 has undertaken an impact assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on WTO terms on the aerospace and automotive sectors.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, and all regions and nations of the UK, in order to inform our negotiations. However, it is not standard practice to provide a running commentary on ongoing analysis. In addition, ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would undermine our negotiating position.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North 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 trade unions representing Tata Steel employees on Tata Steel's announcement on 8 May 2018 that it plans to sell its Engineering Steels Service Centre in Wolverhampton.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Ministers and officials regularly engage with trade unions to discuss a range of issues concerning the steel sector.
With regards to their announcement on the 8th May, Tata Steel have been clear that they will act as a responsible seller. The UK steel industry sits entirely within the private sector, and whilst the sale of its Engineering Steels Service Centre in Wolverhampton is a commercial decision for Tata, we will continue to work closely with them, the unions, and any new partners.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North 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 representatives of Tata Steel on its announcement on 8 May 2018 that it plans to sell its Engineering Steels Service Centre in Wolverhampton.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Ministers and officials regularly engage with Tata to discuss a range of issues concerning the steel sector.
With regards to their announcement on the 8th May, Tata Steel have been clear that they will act as a responsible seller. The UK steel industry sits entirely within the private sector, and whilst the sale of its Engineering Steels Service Centre in Wolverhampton is a commercial decision for Tata, we will continue to work closely with them, the unions, and any new partners.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North 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 he has had with companies inheriting contracts from Carillion on the extension of TUPE rights to Carillion employees.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28th February 2018 to Question UIN 129511.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects the (a) Insolvency Service's investigation into the conduct of Carillion's directors and (b) Financial Reporting Council's investigation into the preparation of Carillion’s accounts to conclude; whether he has received any provisional conclusions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
For the official receiver, the amount of time an investigation takes is dependent on the size and complexity of the business. As this is a large and complex case, it is not possible at this early stage to specify a timeframe. Should the official receiver find any evidence of director misconduct this would be referred to the Insolvency Service for further investigation. The Secretary of State has not received any provisional conclusions from the investigation, nor would he expect to do so from either the official receiver or the insolvency service. Investigations by the official receiver and the insolvency service are conducted separately from Ministers, as is the making of decisions arising from investigations on any possible prosecution or director’s disqualification.
For the Financial Reporting Council, the timing of the investigation depends on the size and complexity of the issues to be considered, but will be taken forward as quickly as possible. At the conclusion of an investigation, the matter may be referred to an independent tribunal which the FRC would convene for the purpose of hearing the case and determining final sanction.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North 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 he has had with companies inheriting contracts from Carillion on the extension of TUPE rights to Carillion employees; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Some elements of TUPE do not apply in liquidation, specifically the continuity of service to those employees who transfer to new employers.
Importing employers may well decide to offer terms to transferring employees which recognise existing employment rights; that is a matter for the importing employer, though the Government has the aspiration to ensure transferred employees are no worse off. The Official Receiver is doing all he can to facilitate this wherever possible.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Government has made of the number of companies affected by the liquidation of Carillion; and what steps the Government plans to take to minimise job losses at those companies.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
At this stage in the liquidation process it is far too soon for the Liquidator to have gathered in full details of the company’s debts and creditors. The Liquidation process for such a complex and interconnected group of companies will take some time. The Official Receiver and his Special Managers have access to the records of the company and will be analysing these as quickly as possible.
We have taken steps to minimise job losses by enacting robust contingency plans to mitigate the impact of Carillion’s insolvency on public services and the individuals employed by the company. PWC are acting as Special Manager to the Official Receiver to ensure that we can continue to provide public services until the liquidation is complete, this means people providing these services can continue to go to work and be confident that they will get paid.
We met with and sought assurance from major high street lenders that they will not penalise small businesses affected by Carillion’s liquidation. Lenders are contacting customers and, where appropriate, are putting in place emergency measures, including overdraft extensions, payment holidays and fee waivers to ensure those facing short term issues can be helped to stay on track.
Government undertook to fund for 48 hours the costs of Carillion continuing to deliver purely private contracts in order to give private sector contractors to determine whether they want to pay for continuation of services from Carillion in liquidation while they move their contracts to another firm.
Between 15 and 16 January all of the company’s private sector service customers have been contacted by the Official Receiver to determine their ongoing needs. Over 90% of these customers have indicated that they want Carillion to continue providing services in the interim until new suppliers can be found and will provide funding which enables the Official Receiver to retain the employees working on those contracts.
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy chaired the first meeting on 18 January of a taskforce to advise on the impact on small businesses and employees affected by Carillion insolvency. It will act as a means for government to communicate to those affected by Carillion’s liquidation, assess wider economic impacts and consider how to ensure that employees are provided with the right support to maximise rapid re-employment.
Information is published online by the Insolvency Service for employees, creditors and suppliers affected and seeking advice. This can be found at:
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs at risk in Carillion's supply chain.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The nature of Carillion business means that it sub-contracts significant proportions of its work, with the potential for those sub-contractors to sub-contract out further elements. The complexity of the contracting structure is such that it is not possible for Government at this stage in the liquidation process to have an estimate of the number of jobs at risk in Carillion’s supply chain.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which measures in the industrial strategy will help to reduce the rate of unemployment in the West Midlands.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government’s Industrial Strategy sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It also builds on previous reforms to allow local leaders to focus where they will have the greatest economic impact. We will agree Local Industrial Strategies that build on local strengths and deliver on economic opportunities. These will be long-term, evidence-based, and aligned to the national Industrial Strategy.
The Government is pleased to have agreed a further devolution package with the West Midlands: the detail of this deal demonstrates the Government’s commitment to mayoral devolution, the Midlands Engine and promoting local economic growth.
Key measures to support employment include:
Joint work to establish one of the first Skills Advisory Panels – a new partnership between the West Midlands Combined Authority, local employers, post-16 skills providers and central government which will bring together data and intelligence on local labour market demand and influence skills provision, including the implementation of T-level qualifications in the local area.
A career learning pilot testing new approaches to helping adults to upskill and reskill throughout their working lives.
In March 2017 we announced a flagship £20million Midlands Skills Challenge to improve skills across the Midlands. This includes:
£11 million to provide additional Work Coaches in order to deliver targeted employment support to unemployed people across Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country, with the aim of supporting claimants furthest from the labour market and improve the employment rate in these areas.
And £2 million to offer English-language training to people in the Midlands, whose lack of ability to speak English is holding them back from accessing employment.
Finally, in the three months ending September 2017, compared to the same period in 2010, the unemployment rate in the West Midlands fell from 9.0% to 5.7%, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points, meaning 87,000 fewer people unemployed (Labour Force Survey, November 2017).