Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make new capital grant funding available to businesses in Peterborough to generate jobs after the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook aims to ensure support for employees and for the local economies most affected by the liquidation.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees. It will also provide advice and funding for businesses affected in the supply chain.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will take steps to help ensure that the site of the former Thomas Cook headquarters in Peterborough is used to generate future employment.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Local partners, including Opportunity Peterborough and Peterborough City Council, are exploring how best to create future employment at the former Peterborough HQ site and secure future investment into the City, working with the Thomas Cook Trust Fund and local and national property agents.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many requests the Insolvency Service has received for redundancy payments from Thomas Cook employees; and how many of those request were from head office employees.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service has received claims from 7,186 former Thomas Cook employees. 462 of these have specifically stated in their claim that Peterborough was their place of work, though it is not mandatory to do so.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what future meetings are planned of the National Taskforce for Thomas Cook; and what funding will be allocated to that task force from the public purse.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The fourth meeting of the National Taskforce for Thomas Cook will be held on 23 October 2019. The taskforce aims to ensure existing mechanisms offer support for employees and for the local economies most affected by the liquidation of Thomas Cook.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support she plans to provide to businesses in Peterborough that were in the supply chain for Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Business Secretary has convened a special cross-government taskforce alongside local stakeholders to support employees, local stakeholders and supply chains. The taskforce is considering existing support schemes available and will monitor local business impacts.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will provide former employees of Thomas Cook with (a) retraining opportunities and (b) loans to start new businesses.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Business Secretary has convened a special cross-government taskforce alongside local stakeholders to support employees, local stakeholders and supply chains. The taskforce is considering existing support schemes available and will also monitor local business impacts.
The Rapid Response Service is already helping people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. This includes training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised certification that will improve employability.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees. It will also provide advice and funding for businesses affected in the supply chain.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will request that the liquidator of Thomas Cook does not contest protective award claims from employees of the company.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator of the Thomas Cook group of companies by the court and, as liquidator, the Official Receiver acts as an officer of the court. It will be for the Official Receiver to determine his response to any claims for protective awards from former employees made to an Employment Tribunal, taking account of the particular circumstances of the claims.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to the SSI Task Force since the closure of SSI by programme; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the SSI Task Force in supporting (a) former employees and (b) the economy in the Tees Valley area following the collapse of SSI.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The SSI Task Force was set up in 2015 to support impacted workers after the liquidation of the company. We are working with the Task Force and Tees Valley Combined Authority on an evaluation of the economic impact on both affected workers and the local economy. This will be published shortly. Progress reports for the Task Force are available at www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/SSITaskForce.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the SSI Taskforce established following the closure of SSI, if she will establish (a) a safety net fund for areas where large numbers of Thomas Cook employees are being made redundant and (b) a business growth zone for Peterborough following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Established in 2015, the SSI Taskforce has been responsible for delivering a range of support initiatives following the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar. The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook is bringing together key partners to support former employees in all parts of the UK, with regional focus at Manchester and Peterborough where many employees were based.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations she has received from Peterborough City Council for financial support following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees.