Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for (a) two and (b) three shift patterns of working for staff in his Department in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Department’s Operations Centre (DOC) which will manage and lead the preparations and response to a no deal exit was formally activated in the period 21-28 October 2019 and two shift working was in operation during that period.
We consider this shift pattern will be sufficient to effectively manage a no deal exit in the majority of circumstances. In the event a no deal exit occurs with multiple event occurring at the same time, we would introduce three shift working to effectively manage a reasonable worst case scenario.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has conducted a risk assessment for (a) Departmental staff and (b) the Department of shift working patterns.
Answered by Jake Berry
No specific or additional risk assessment has been conducted in relation to staff undertaking normal hours working in our Departmental Operations Centre (DOC). Our existing health and safety policies ensure that we will continue to exercise our duty of care and appropriately safeguard the health and well-being of our staff. We have conducted a specific risk assessment of night working and have put in place the necessary measures to advise and support staff in these circumstances. We have also provided specific advice and support on the complete range of issues associated with shift working e.g. travelling late at night and have also provided additional well-being training for staff working in our DOC.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure blind and partially-sighted people are guaranteed privacy when they cast votes at elections.
Answered by Chloe Smith
All eligible voters should be able to cast their vote in secret and the Government through the Cabinet Office chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group is working to make elections more accessible. This has included working in partnership with the RNIB and Electoral Commission to make improvements to training materials for polling station staff to provide better support to voters with sight loss.
The proposals announced as part of the package around the Queen’s Speech, will bring forward legislative measures that respond to issues raised in the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections. This will include increasing the range of support available to voters with sight loss in polling stations, with a dedicated sub-group of the Accessibility of Elections Group Working researching potential solutions. Disabled people including those who are blind and partially sighted will also benefit from an increased range of support that can be provided at the polling station (such as carers).
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, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 737, how many of the (a) 7,186 and (b) 462 former Thomas Cook employees who specifically stated in their claim that Peterborough was their place of work have received redundancy payments to date.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Three thousand of the 9,000 staff employed by Thomas Cook were retained after the commencement of the liquidation to assist repatriation work and the liquidation process. This included many at the HQ in Peterborough responsible for areas such as payroll.
As a result, a number of the Peterborough claims are from employees made redundant in the last week following the end of the repatriation exercise and are therefore currently still being assessed and processed for payment. Administering redundancy payments is an ongoing process as claims are verified and further payroll information is received. The Redundancy Payments Service will process outstanding payments as quickly as possible.
As of 29 October 2019, of the 7,627 former Thomas Cook employees who have submitted claims to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service, 7,483 have received one or more payment. Of the 587 former Thomas Cook employees who specifically state in their claim that Peterborough was their place of work, 555 have received one or more payment.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 1123, what financial support is available for businesses in a position to take on former employees of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has convened a special cross-government taskforce alongside local stakeholders to support employees, local stakeholders and supply chains. The taskforce is considering support schemes available and will also monitor local business impacts.
Additionally, the Rapid Response Service is helping people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support, which may include:
Local partners are able to advise on support available locally to former employees and businesses wishing to recruit them.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 374, how much funding from the public purse Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority received from the package of support following the collapse of Thomas Cook; and what funding the Government is providing to support (a) former employees with re-employment and (b) businesses to take on redundant employees of that company.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook will look to ensure existing mechanisms to offer support and associated governance are working effectively.
Additionally, the Rapid Response Service is helping people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support, which includes:
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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a business growth zone for Peterborough following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Government is supporting businesses in Peterborough by continuing to invest in the Signpost 2 Grow Growth Hub run by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
The Growth Hub is available to help support business growth through signposting and referring to existing business support provision and to identify gaps in provision and source suitable alternatives whether free, subsidised or commercially available.
Signpost 2 Grow is a part of the network of 38 Growth Hubs that are local public/private sector partnerships led by the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). They join up national and local business support, so it is easy for businesses to find the help they need.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of staff his Department will need to work on a (a) two and (b) three shift pattern to staff the Departmental Operations Centre in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Jake Berry
The current estimates are that a two shift working arrangement in our Departmental Operations Centre would require 389 people and a three shift working arrangement would require 621 people in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the (a) employment prospects and (b) financial security of former staff of the HMRC office in Peterborough of the closure of that office.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC’s office in Peterborough (Churchgate) is scheduled to close in December 2020 with staff moving where possible to the Stratford Regional Centre, or to Croydon or Nottingham if these are more suitable options. One-to-one meetings between staff and managers to discuss personal circumstances and support packages tailored to individual needs are scheduled to start in November 2019. The precise impact of the office closure will not be known until these meetings have been completed.
HMRC will support people who are unable to move to work through all possible options, including helping them to find another role and offering advice and training on applying for jobs. HMRC have a close working relationship with the other government departments in Peterborough and will continue to scope opportunities for their staff as they arise.
HMRC are committed to supporting their people and in July 2019 HMRC published a People and Equality Impact Assessment, which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817787/People_and_Equality_Impact_Assessment_-_Locations_Programme__2019_.pdf. The document sets out the actions HMRC are taking across the UK to minimise the impacts on their people.
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 estimate has been made of the number of Thomas Cook employees who were based at the company's headquarters in Peterborough.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Official Receiver’s Special Managers advise that 1,143 staff were based at the Thomas Cook headquarters in Peterborough.
The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook will look to ensure existing mechanisms to offer support and associated governance are working effectively.
Additionally, the Rapid Response Service is helping people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support, which may include: