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Written Question
Energy Bills Rebate
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the financial impact of the delay in issuing the Energy Bills Support Scheme payments for (a) park home residents and (b) other households without a direct energy supply contract on those households.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department has made no such assessment. The Government is working to deliver this support through the EBSS Alternative Funding as soon as possible.


Written Question
Renewable Energy: Smart Export Guarantee
Friday 18th November 2022

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average rate payable under the Smart Export Guarantee for renewable energy generated by households was in the latest period for which data is available; and if he will make an assessment of adequacy of the responsiveness of rates available under the Smart Export Guarantee to market conditions.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem’s second annual report for 2021/22 found that 12 suppliers offered 36 different tariffs, including offerings of over 5p per kilowatt hour (which is in some cases higher than the FIT export tariff) and above the 3p per kilowatt hour average electricity wholesale price for 2020. The Government continues to monitor whether the market is delivering an effective range of options for small exporters.


Written Question
Fireworks: Noise
Tuesday 3rd March 2020

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to impose a maximum noise level of 90 decibels on fireworks sold for private use.

Answered by Paul Scully

Existing legislation limits noise from fireworks available to consumers to a maximum of 120 decibels. Consumers can also choose to buy from a range of fireworks with lower noise levels.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has been developing a fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks. This includes noise as well as anti-social behaviour, non-compliance, environmental impact, and the impact on humans and animals. This will build a full picture of the data around fireworks in order to identify whether, and what, further action is appropriate.


Written Question
Directors: Prosecutions
Tuesday 5th November 2019

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

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 letter of 23 September 2019 from the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility to the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside, for what reasons it is the Government’s policy that it is rarely in the public interest to prosecute directors who abandon companies.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

A prosecuting authority must ensure that any proposed prosecution meets the tests in the code for Crown Prosecutors. They are:

  • That there is sufficient evidence an offence has been committed;
  • That there is a reasonable expectation that a conviction can be secured; and,
  • That the prosecuting authority must be satisfied that if a conviction is secured the Courts will impose more than a nominal penalty.

Abandoning a company as such is not an offence. A prosecution could only be for failing to file statutory documents: accounts or a confirmation statement. It is rarely the case that prosecuting the directors of a company that is no longer required meets the above tests.


Written Question
Companies: Registration
Thursday 31st October 2019

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

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 effectiveness of checks on company registrations in England and Wales.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Registrar of Companies (Companies House) has a statutory obligation to incorporate a new company on receipt of a validly completed application. When registering a new company, the Registrar is carrying out a function of the state on behalf of the Government.

Companies House undertakes numerous checks on the validity of information, both at incorporation and throughout the life of the company as new information is submitted.

The Department consulted earlier this year on a broad package of possible reforms to Companies House to ensure it is fit for the future and continues to contribute to the UK’s business environment. They are designed to deliver more reliably accurate information on the companies register and enhance Companies House work in support of UK law enforcement efforts to tackle economic crime.


Written Question
Company liquidations
Thursday 31st October 2019

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

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 effectiveness of incentives for directors to apply for voluntary strike-off to dispose of unwanted companies.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

A company can apply to Companies House for a voluntary strike off if it has not traded in the last three months. The process is set out in the Companies Act 2006 and is designed to safeguard those who are likely to be affected by a company’s dissolution. Guidance is also available for directors, and is available on gov.uk.


Written Question
Social Services: Minimum Wage
Wednesday 1st November 2017

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when guidance on the interpretation of national minimum wage rules relating to overnight sleep-in care including access to additional funding was issued to (a) local authority care commissioners, (b) HM Revenue and Customs and (c) care providers.

Answered by Margot James

The legislation determining when employers should pay the minimum wage for sleeping time remains unchanged since legislation was first introduced in 1998. Court and employment tribunal judgments have, over time, helped to clarify the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the minimum wage is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance was adapted in February 2015 following judgments to clarify that point.

The guidance has always been freely available on Government websites. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they pay their workers according to the law, including the National Minimum Wage regulations.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not offer guidance to social care providers regarding additional funding.


Written Question
Social Services: Living Wage
Wednesday 1st November 2017

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

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 changed its guidance on sleep-in shifts to state that a worker who was asleep could be deemed to be working up to and above national living wage; and when local authorities and care providers were informed of that change.

Answered by Margot James

The legislation determining when employers should pay the minimum wage for sleeping time remains unchanged since legislation was first introduced in 1998. Court and employment tribunal judgments have, over time, helped to clarify the position on what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the minimum wage is payable for sleep-in shifts. Government guidance was adapted in February 2015 following judgments to clarify that point.

The guidance has always been freely available on Government websites. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they pay their workers according to the law, including the National Minimum Wage regulations.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not offer guidance to social care providers regarding additional funding.


Written Question
Bombardier: USA
Thursday 19th October 2017

Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he and his Cabinet colleagues made to (a) their counterparts in the US Administration and (b) US industry on subsidies provided by Washington State for Boeing's Dreamliner.

Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford

The European Union has competency for all trade matters that involve the WTO and while we have been closely engaged with the Commission they led all the negotiations and arguments concerning the case regarding Washington State’s support for Boeings Dreamliner.