Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the industrial strategy does not discriminate against disabled people.
Answered by Claire Perry
Cabinet colleagues were consulted on the Industrial Strategy White Paper, as part of the Cabinet Committee write round process.
The White Paper highlights our plans to achieve our ambition to see one million more disabled people in employment in the UK by 2027.
The equality impact assessments on new policies within the White Paper showed no adverse impact on disabled people.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on tackling incidences of mis-selling of green energy deals.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department takes very seriously the issue of mis-selling.
To help improve quality and consumer confidence, the Government commissioned the independent Each Home Counts review, led by Dr. Peter Bonfield, which published its findings in December 2016. Implementation of Each Home Counts is being led by industry with the support of Government, in line with the recommendations of the review. One of the main recommendations from the Review was to establish a quality mark for retrofit energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to help offer a clear and consistent standard for consumers. Those businesses who wish to use the quality mark will need to adhere to a customer charter and code of conduct which will ensure appropriate levels of consumer protection including around mis-selling.
The Department has specific responsibilities for certain schemes and I set out below steps taken to protect consumers in key areas.
Green Deal: The Green Deal helps consumers make energy-saving improvements to their properties with the cost repaid via the consumer’s electricity bill. There is an established process for handling complaints. In the first instance, consumers should approach their Green Deal Provider. Where the Green Deal Provider is unable to resolve the complaint satisfactorily, the consumer may approach the Green Deal Ombudsman or for complaints relating to the mis-selling of credit, the Financial Ombudsman Service. The consumer redress process is set out in The Green Deal Framework (Disclosure, Acknowledgment, Redress etc.) Regulations, and is supplemented by the Green Deal Code of Practice. Under certain circumstances, where a consumer is not satisfied with the decision of the relevant Ombudsman, the regulations also allow for cases to be referred to the Secretary of State, who may impose reduction or cancellation of Green Deal plans.
Renewable Heat Incentive and Feed-in Tariff: The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme provides financial incentives to install renewable heating systems to support the transition to low-carbon heating in the UK. The Feed-in Tariff scheme is a programme designed to promote the uptake of small-scale renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies. It is a key condition of both schemes that the renewable energy technology product and the installer are certified to the standards of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), a third party certification scheme. This ensures that people who buy renewable energy systems and apply to these schemes are covered by consumer protection schemes governing the quality and performance of the products, as well as the quality of the installation and service they receive from the installer.
Installers are required to be a member of a Consumer Code, backed by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which covers advertising and promotion, behaviour of sales staff, proposals, estimates and quotes, terms of business, cancellation rights, deposits and prepayments, guarantees, maintenance and service agreements and service and repair.
Complaints about the installed product, the installation, or the installer can be submitted to the MCS. A Complaint Guidelines document is published on the Scheme’s website. Depending on the nature of the complaint, it is then dealt with by the MCS Administrator, the relevant Certification Body which certificated the product or the installer, or the Consumer Code of which the installer is a member.
Consumers not covered by the protections above should contact their local Trading Standards.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what powers are available to Ofgem to protect consumers against fraud by green deal energy providers.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Green Deal is administered by the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body (GD ORB) under The Green Deal Framework (Disclosure Acknowledgement, Redress etc) Regulations 2012. The GD ORB assesses applicant Green Deal Providers against the criteria set out in the Regulations to determine whether they are a fit person to act as a Green Deal Provider. The GD ORB also monitors compliance against the Green Deal Code of Practice and use of the Green Deal Quality Mark. These processes seek to ensure that Green Deal Providers operate to a high standard for the benefit of all scheme stakeholders, and that consumers entering Green Deal plans are appropriately protected. Where things go wrong, the Green Deal Ombudsman is available to consumers to seek redress and the Regulations provide remedies for consumer redress. We are exploring ways to improve consumer protection in the area through the Each Home Counts Review and the call for evidence on the Green Deal Framework which closed on 23 November 2017. Ofgem does not have powers under the Framework Regulations.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 ensure that the UK maintains its position as a leader in research and innovation within the life sciences sector after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world. We have made a landmark commitment to work with industry to boost spending on Research and Development (R&D) to 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027. The work could increase public and private R&D investment by as much as £80 billion over the next 10 years. This will start with government making an extra investment of £2.3 billion in 2021/22, raising total public investment in R&D to £12.5 billion that year alone.
As part of our ambition for a new deep and special partnership with the EU, recognising our shared interest in maintaining and strengthening research collaboration, the UK will seek an agreement that promotes science and innovation across Europe now and in the future. This includes continued collaboration in vital sectors such as life sciences that, through programmes such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative, help deliver better care for patients in the UK, member states and around the world.
While we remain a member of the EU, UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds, and we will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Government will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. This includes awards that are bid for before exit that are successful after exit.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the sector deal for the life sciences sector.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
We welcome progress on a number of early sector deals, including the life sciences sector, which published their industry-led Life Sciences Industrial Strategy on 30 August. We are in advanced discussions with the sector about an ambitious Sector Deal.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made to date on meeting the Renewable Energy Directive obligation of 20 per cent renewable sourced energy by 2020; and what estimate he has made of likely progress towards that goal by 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The 2020 renewable energy target requires the UK to achieve 15% of final energy consumption from renewables by the end of this decade. This requires action to promote renewables in electricity generation, heating and transport. There is a binding 10% sub-target of transport fuels from renewable sources.
We have met the Directive’s interim targets, and are currently progressing in line with the trajectory set out in the Directive. We are making good progress towards the next interim target of an average of 7.47% of energy from renewables across 2015 and 2016, and in 2015 8.3% of energy came from renewable sources.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting additional funding for the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) for investment in the national measurement infrastructure; and what assessment he has made of the extent of the contribution which the NEL makes in that area.
Answered by Margot James
The Government fully appreciates the importance of measurement science to the UK’s economic prosperity and quality of life and will continue to deliver a National Measurement System on behalf of Government through the infrastructure of measurement laboratories in the UK.
The UK Measurement Strategy will be published shortly, building on the previous Strategy published in 2011, to focus on key areas that underpin Government priorities over the coming five years. The balance between scientific programmes in which the Government invests will be determined by this strategy.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with disabilities receive support to start small business enterprises.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Our approach is to ensure help is available to all who want to start and grow a business, including individuals with disabilities. The Business Support Helpline provides bespoke advice to anyone who needs it. Currently around 1% of callers to the Helpline state they have a disability. It can send information in large fonts or braille and also provides a text phone service. Material is also available on www.gov.uk.
The Start-Up Loans programme provides loans and mentoring support. It operates through a network of delivery partners who adhere to FCA Regulations on Treating Customers Fairly, which include reference to the treatment of customers with a disability.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) New Enterprise Allowance provides funding and advice to people on certain benefits to help them start their own business. It supported 15,500 people with disabilities between April 2011 and September 2015. DWP’s Access to Work scheme supports people with a disability, health or mental health condition to help them start working, stay in work or start a business.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage gender diversity in company ownership.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The UK has been named as one of the best places in Europe to start a business with an increase of 900,000 businesses between 2010 and 2015. And around 1 million (20%) of all our SMEs in UK were led by women in 2014, an increase of around 170,000 from 2010. We have also exceeded the 25% representation of women on FTSE 100 boards.