Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the powers available to officials to ensure that prices charged by vendors for basic household goods do not rise unreasonably during temporary local shortages.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Competition and Markets Authority issued a public statement on 5 March to reassure businesses and consumers that it is monitoring retail practices during the coronavirus outbreak and will take direct enforcement action, or advise the Government to take additional measures, if it is required.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 Answer of 2 October to Question 290776 on Rain Forests: Amazonia, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect of the (a) degradation of carbon sinks and (b) deforestation in the Amazon rainforest on the timeframe for the UK's transition to a net-zero economy.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The timeframe for the UK's transition to achieving our domestic net-zero target is not dependent on reducing degradation and deforestation in the Amazonia rainforest. However, BEIS continues to support work on the supply chain impacts of UK consumption of key commodities such as soya, as well as work to reduce deforestation and restore forests in Amazonia countries.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290776 on Rain Forests: Amazonia, what assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the level of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK is concerned by data that suggests a surge in forest fires in the Amazon rainforest in 2019. Whilst the data is complex there is evidence that indicates this surge in fires follows months of accelerated deforestation. In recent years we have seen some evidence that climate change is making forest fires more frequent and severe in Amazon countries and elsewhere. Unlike previous years when El Niño caused severe droughts, climatic conditions were probably not a significant factor this year’s increase in fires.
Amazon countries are established key partners for the UK in our collective efforts to promote sustainable growth, tackle deforestation and mitigate climate change. As stated in my response on 2 October 2019, the UK supports a number initiatives, as part of multilateral climate funds and the UK’s bilateral relationship with several Amazon countries, that aim to: i) improve the capacity of governments to reduce deforestation; ii) incentivise forest protection through results based payments; iii) enable businesses and communities to grow rural economies sustainably whilst protecting standing forests.
These initiatives continuously monitor and implement mitigation strategies for risks, such as increasing deforestation, in the course of their ongoing activities.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 an assessment of the implications for her Department's policies of recent trends in the level of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
BEIS is supporting a number of community, business and government-led initiatives, as part of the UK’s bilateral relationship with Brazil, that help increase the value of Brazil’s standing forest, promote the sustainability of agricultural production systems, and restore deforested land.
Implementation arrangements for these initiatives regularly assess how deforestation levels, and the underlying drivers, are changing relative to recent trends. BEIS officials work closely with teams in the UK’s Embassies in Brazil to routinely monitor progress, risks and opportunities.
Initiatives include:
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of recent trends in the level of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timeframe is for the publication of the Government’s response to the public consultation on extending redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The consultation closed on 5th April 2019. We are currently analysing responses and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on (a) fair competition, (b) earnings and working conditions for workers and (c) labour market efficiency of mandating portability of reviews and ratings of service workers within sectors of the economy that are characterised by digital interfaces between customers and workers who provide services but who are not employed by the interface provider.
Answered by Margot James
The Government is now considering the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices which discusses the issues you raise. Matthew Taylor’s report is comprehensive and detailed and we are giving the report the careful consideration it deserves and will respond in full later this year.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to empower local authorities to tackle non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage.
Answered by Margot James
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th September 2017 to Question UIN 10031.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 support local authorities to tackle non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage.
Answered by Margot James
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforce the National Minimum Wage on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). In 2016/17, HMRC identified £10.9m of underpayments, owed to 98,000 workers. The enforcement budget has been increased to £25.3m for 2017/18.
Effective communications are an integral part of our strategy for promoting compliance. Both BEIS and HMRC provide information and guidance to help employers ensure they are compliant, and we encourage Local Authorities and other agencies to use these resources and others to support employer compliance.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 page 149 of the report UK Poverty: Causes and Solutions, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on 6 September 2016, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the Low Pay Commission's compliance and operational proposals in full.
Answered by Margot James
The Government carefully considers all Low Pay Commission recommendations. We continue to strengthen our enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, including the three areas identified in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report.
For example, we have increased resources available for enforcement – to £20 million in 2016/17, increasing to £25.3m for 2017/18.
Last year, HMRC identified a record £10.9 million in arrears for 98,000 workers.
Tougher penalties for non-compliance were introduced in April 2016 – underpayments occurring since then are subject to a penalty of 200% the value of the arrears, capped at £20,000 per worker.