Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take legislative steps to tackle human right abuses in business practices.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct and supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent human rights abuses across their operations and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools that are emerging, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the former Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service sought advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments before accepting the position of Executive Director of the Centre for Public Interest Audit.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service’s submitted his notice of resignation on 12th February 2025 and his last day will be 12th May 2025. The Department for Business and Trade determined that the conditions for making an application to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments were not met in this case.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress the Insolvency Service has made in their civil investigation of P&O Ferries.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Insolvency Service’s civil investigation into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries remains ongoing. No further comment or information can be provided at this time.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward secondary legislation under the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill once enacted.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Bill will give us the powers we need to make necessary changes to the product regulation framework. Secondary legislation is subject to the Bill receiving Royal Assent and subsequent parliamentary time in passing any secondary legislation. It is too early to commit to a detailed timetable for secondary legislation, but we will continue to work with stakeholders as this develops.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to ensure that the Office for Product Safety and Standards is adequately resourced to enforce the provisions of the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Capacity already exists to enforce the provisions proposed in the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill in both the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and in local authorities. Government will consider any changes to resourcing requirements for OPSS within the Spending Review and departmental business planning processes. Local authority budgets are set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and allocated by local authorities according to their priorities.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will (a) list the product regulations that will be reviewed under the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill and (b) make an assessment of the effectiveness of current legislation in protecting consumers from the sale of dangerous toys sold on online marketplaces.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide Government with enabling powers to update regulations. The main regulations are listed in the recently published Government response to the Product Safety Review.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards runs a national programme to reduce the risk of non-compliant products sold online. Through monitoring and evaluating marketplaces, including purchasing and testing products, we assess the prevalence of unsafe toys and take appropriate enforcement action.
While UK regulations are clear that toys must be safe, the Bill will enable regulations to be updated to better reflect modern supply chains, including online marketplaces.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will take steps to prevent third-party sellers from selling dangerous goods to consumers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe. Third-party sellers have clear obligations under legislation where they are either producers or distributors.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards carries out a range of regulatory actions to reduce the risk of unsafe products being sold online by third-party sellers. This includes test purchasing, taking enforcement action, providing guidance to sellers, and working with Local Authority Trading Standards and Border Force to undertake co-ordinated interventions.
In addition, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide powers to update the responsibilities of online supply chain actors, including third-party sellers.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to ensure that market surveillance authorities are adequately resourced to manage new requirements for online marketplaces.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide Government with enabling powers to introduce new requirements on online marketplaces. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and local authorities already carry out a range of regulatory actions to reduce the risk of unsafe products being sold online.
Government will consider any changes to resourcing requirements for OPSS within the Spending Review and departmental business planning processes. Local authority budgets are set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and allocated by local authorities according to their priorities.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Simon Blagden's status as a Conservative Party donor was taken into account as part of the appointment process for his roles at (a) Building Digital UK, (b) UK Health Security Agency and (c) the Trade Advisory Group for telecoms and technology.
Answered by Greg Hands
For all appointments, a declaration of interests is recorded and due diligence conducted on appointees. These appointments will have been decided on the individual’s experience against the essential criteria for the role.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Simon Blagden's role at Fujitsu UK was taken in account as part of the appointment process for his roles at (a) Building Digital UK, (b) UK Health Security Agency and (c) the Trade Advisory Group on telecoms and technology.
Answered by Greg Hands
For all appointments, a declaration of interests is recorded and due diligence conducted on appointees. These appointments will have been decided on the individual’s experience against the essential criteria for the role.