Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 take steps to help protect leaseholders of shared ownership properties who face high energy price increases where developers have enrolled those leaseholders in Community Energy Partnerships which are not regulated by Ofgem and not protected by the Government's energy price cap.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Default Tariff Act requires Ofgem, as the gas and electricity markets regulator, to put licence conditions in place for a cap on domestic default gas and electricity tariffs. District or communal heating systems typically buy their energy through commercial contracts which are not covered by the Act.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to bring forward proposals to extend pregnancy redundancy discrimination protections.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government consulted on increasing redundancy protection for pregnant women and new mothers in 2019. In our response to the consultation, we said that the existing framework which applies while a mother is on Maternity Leave (Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc.) would be extended into the period from the start of her pregnancy and for six months on return to work. We will also extend redundancy protection into a period of return to work for those taking shared parental leave and adoption leave.
We will introduce these changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a ban on making pregnant women and new mothers redundant between (a) notification of pregnancy and (b) six months after return to work.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government consulted on increasing redundancy protection for pregnant women and new mothers in 2019. In our response to the consultation, we said that the existing framework which applies while a mother is on Maternity Leave (Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc.) would be extended into the period from the start of her pregnancy and for six months on return to work. We will also extend redundancy protection into a period of return to work for those taking shared parental leave and adoption leave.
We will introduce these changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 take steps to extend eligibility to the covid-19 small business grant fund and business rates holiday to tenants of New Covent Garden Flower Market that occupy larger units with a rateable value of £15,000 or more to allow those businesses access to the same support available to tenants with smaller units.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF), the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF) and the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund (LADGF) have supported many thousands of small businesses through this challenging period. Between April and September 2020, over £11.68 billion was paid out to 999,735 business premises. I am grateful for the hard work of Local Authorities in delivering this funding.
These schemes are now closed, and we are unable to extend the eligibility criteria.
Local authorities are responsible for decisions about the award of business rates relief having regard to legislation and guidance. Markets may be eligible for the expanded retail discount if the local authority’s view is that they meet the criteria but there is no rateable value limit for the scheme.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason wholesale and supply chain businesses are ineligible for funding under the Restart Grant scheme; and what assessment his Department has made of the impact of that decision on wholesale and supply chain businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Restart Grant scheme aimed to support businesses in specific sectors to reopen as coronavirus restrictions eased across the country. One-off grants were given to eligible businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors.
The Government is committed to continuing to provide financial support via Local Authorities for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, published in July 2017 and the Government's Good Work response and consultations of 2018, what plans have been put in place to end exploitative working practices as part of the Government's covid-19 outbreak recovery plans.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have already made good progress on delivering on Matthew Taylor’s recommendations to help end exploitative working practices, including introducing legislation that quadruples the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly and closing a loophole which sees agency workers employed on cheaper rates than permanent workers.
The Government has also continued support workers throughout the pandemic, including protecting the earnings of furloughed workers who take Maternity Pay and other forms of Parental or Adoption Pay, and published a review into how employers can support victims of domestic abuse in the workplace.
We will continue to build on this record as we build back better from the pandemic and to deliver on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a business. We are consulting on proposals to help achieve this ambition and will bring forward details in due course.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 Government response entitled Good work: a response to the Taylor Review of modern working practices, published on 7 February 2018, what plans he has to help end exploitative working practices as part of the Government's recovery plans as covid-19 restrictions are eased. .
Answered by Paul Scully
We have already made good progress on delivering on Matthew Taylor’s recommendations to help end exploitative working practices, including introducing legislation that quadruples the maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly and closing a loophole which sees agency workers employed on cheaper rates than permanent workers.
Government has also continued support workers throughout the pandemic, including protecting the earnings of furloughed workers who take Maternity Pay and other forms of Parental or Adoption Pay, and published a review into how employers can support victims of domestic abuse in the workplace.
We will continue to build on this record as we build back better from the pandemic and to deliver on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a business. We are consulting on proposals to help achieve this ambition and will bring forward details in due course.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to implement the 53 recommendations of the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have already made significant progress in implementing recommendations arising from the Taylor Review, including legislating for stronger protections for vulnerable agency workers and extending the right to a written statement to workers.
As we build back better, we will bring forward measures when parliamentary time allows to establish an employment framework which is fit for purpose and keeps pace with the needs of modern workplaces.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken during the covid-19 outbreak to support small businesses that supply goods to the events and hospitality sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has brought forward a substantial package of financial support for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £65 billion three-point plan to provide support for jobs and businesses, including small businesses in the supply chains of the events and hospitality sectors, with extensions to furlough, self-employed support, business grants, loans and VAT cuts.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 his Department's consultation, Good Work Plan: proposals to support families, which closed on 29 November 2019, if he will take steps to respond to that consultation in respect of shared parental leave.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are currently assessing the responses from the consultation on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. We are also conducting a formal evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme, including large-scale, representative surveys of employers and parents. We are currently processing and analysing the data that we have collected.
Together, the consultation and the evaluation will give us a fuller picture of how well the current system of parental leave and pay is working for parents and employers. We intend to publish the Government Response to the consultation and the findings of the evaluation later this year.