Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 10062 on Animal Welfare: Fireworks, what the Government’s planned timetable is for reviewing the existing policy.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.
The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 10062 on Animal Welfare: Fireworks, what form of engagement the Government plans to undertake with charities on its review of existing policy.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities shortly after the fireworks season to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks. Officials regularly meet and correspond with charities to listen to and understand their views.
The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk and are working closely with some animal and veteran charities to help amplify their campaign messages.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report by the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills entitled Workplace Employment Relations Study, published on 23 January 2013, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning a new workplace employment relations study.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are currently no plans to undertake a new Workplace Employee Relations Study (WERS). The survey methodology is challenging to replicate as it relies on sampling via the employer which is harder to obtain due to increased privacy concerns in recent years.
WERS was co-sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Acas, the Economic and Social Research Council, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
The Department undertook the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey in 2018/19 which provides evidence on employment relations and management practices in British workplaces.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill will contain measures to improve the quality of the auditing of public sector bodies.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government's manifesto committed to overhaul the local audit system to provide high quality, timely assurance to taxpayers. On 30 July, Jim McMahon, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, outlined to Parliament immediate actions to address the local audit backlog in England. Longer-term, he committed to reviewing the evidence (including external review recommendations) and to update the House this autumn.
The draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill will tackle bad financial reporting through a strengthened regulator. It will uphold standards and independent scrutiny of companies' accounts, supporting investment and economic security.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Retention payments in the construction industry, published on 24 October 2017, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the policies proposed in that consultation.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Small businesses are essential to our economic success.
This Government is committed to take action on late payments to ensure small businesses and the self-employed are paid on time. The practice of cash retentions can create problems for contractors in the construction supply chain, due to late and non-payment. Any policy solution must be a sustainable one that works for the industry.