Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport regarding employer deductions from seafarers’ wages for accommodation costs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) continues to consider the recommendations from the Low Pay Commission (LPC)'s report on the accommodation offset, including the recommendation about its application to seafarers. As part of this work we are engaging with the Department for Transport. We anticipate responding to the LPC's recommendations regarding the accommodation offset in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will provide a response to the recommendation in the National Minimum Wage: Low Pay Commission Report 2022 CP 758 that seafarers be exempted from the Accommodation Offset.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) continues to consider the recommendations from the Low Pay Commission (LPC)'s report on the accommodation offset, including the recommendation about its application to seafarers. As part of this work we are engaging with the Department for Transport. We anticipate responding to the LPC's recommendations regarding the accommodation offset in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of potential implications for his policies on productivity of the report by the IPPR entitled Taking stock: Counting the economic costs of alcohol harm, published on 8 October 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I welcome the IPPR's report and its contribution to understanding the economic and social impact of alcohol harm. Employers have a legal duty to protect employees' health, safety, and welfare.
'Keep Britain Working' is bringing together the expertise of leading UK businesses to help prevent ill health at work wherever possible, and to support those affected stay in work. In the '10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future', we have committed to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information.
This Government will continue to monitor alcohol-related harm and its economic impact.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on local authorities’ ability to refuse harmful alcohol licenses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any potential reforms on the ability of licensing authorities to refuse licences where they have concerns within the scope of the current licensing regime. The Government, however, intends there to be no reduction in the existing safeguards relating to public safety, prevention of crime and disorder, public nuisance and protection of children.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on rapid round-the-clock alcohol delivery.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Delivery of alcohol to consumers, for example as a result of online purchasing, is part of the off-trade, i.e. sales from supermarkets, off-licences and online retailers. The focus of the government’s reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on levels of alcohol-related (a) deaths and (b) harm.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system. No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on alcohol-related deaths or harm. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) community safety and (b) levels of anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.
The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) on trade and (b) off trade sales.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.
The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to investigate the conduct of Kroll Advisory Ltd in its role as administrator of Prosperous Life; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that affected consumers are protected.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All insolvency practitioners (IPs), including those at Kroll Advisory Ltd, are authorised and regulated by recognised professional bodies, which operate under the Secretary of State’s oversight. Matters of concern about IP conduct are the responsibility of those bodies, in line with their published rules and procedures.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31822 on Public Holidays, if he will make an estimate of the (a) cost of introducing an additional annual bank holiday on a permanent basis and (b) financial impact on each sector of the economy.
Answered by Justin Madders
Under the Better Regulation Framework, the Department would be expected to produce an Impact Assessment estimating the costs of an additional, permanent bank holiday if the Government proposed one. However, since the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and widely accepted, the Government has no such plans.
The best available indication at present is from the impact assessment undertaken by the previous Government in 2022, estimating the cost of the one-off Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.