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 make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory ethnicity pay reporting.
Answered by Paul Scully
In 2018/2019, the Government consulted on options for employer-level ethnicity pay reporting. Following this, the Government met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers to reporting and to explore what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken.
Following the consultation, we ran a methodology testing exercise with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation. This highlighted the genuine difficulties in designing a methodology that will produce accurate figures that facilitate analysis, interpretation and meaningful action.
The Government is continuing to analyse this data. We will respond to the Ethnicity Pay Reporting consultation as soon as we can.
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 assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 restrictions on people with sight loss or visual impairment who cannot shop online while non-essential shops are closed.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises the specific challenges faced by people with sight loss or visual impairment.
We are ensuring that disabled people continue to have access to employment support, disability benefits, financial support, food, medicines, as well as accessible communications and updated guidance.
We are clear that consideration of equality impacts must be integral in all key policy decisions. All equality and discrimination laws and obligations continue to apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cabinet Office Disability Unit works with disability stakeholders and across Government Departments to ensure that the needs of disabled people are considered in the Government’s response to COVID-19.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has secured online shopping slots for people whose independence has been challenged by lockdown, including those with sight loss. Eligible people can be referred through the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s helpline on 0303 123 9999.
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 he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendation by the Women and Equalities Select Committee that HR1 forms should be amended to collect data on the protected characteristics of people that are made redundant in large numbers.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is grateful for the work of the Women and Equalities Select Committee on “Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the gendered economic impact”. We are currently considering the report and will be responding to its recommendations 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 steps he is taking to avoid gaps in the delivery of supplies of the covid-19 vaccine affecting areas of (a) London and (b) the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Vaccines are a precious resource and are in very high demand across the world; therefore, for security reasons it is not possible to provide detail about the size of our supplies and exact detail about future deliveries.
We have been monitoring the requirements across the supply chain from supplier through to patients for some time. All vaccine candidates’ supply and onward deployment have clear supply chain plans across the value chain, including materials, manufacturing, transportation, storage, and distribution. We continue to work to meet our target of vaccinating all four priority groups, as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, by the middle of February.
The vaccine is being rolled out as quickly as doses can be supplied and quality checked, with over 4.6 million people already vaccinated across the UK. The UK COVID-19 Vaccines Delivery Plan sets out how the Government will work with the NHS, devolved administrations, local councils, and the Armed Forces to deliver the largest vaccination programme in British history.
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 his Department is taking to monitor the number of covid-19 financial support applications made to local authorities that are (a) approved and (b) declined.
Answered by Paul Scully
Local Authorities work within the guidance provided by the Department to ensure that support is provided where needed. The Department receives weekly progress updates from Local Authorities which includes information on the number and value of grants paid by Local Authorities to date.
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 recommendation 26 of the report Race in the workplace: the McGregor-Smith review, published on 28 February 2017, what assessment he has made of whether (a) the recommendations of that review have been implemented and (b) the need for government action to ensure their implementation.
Answered by Paul Scully
A one-year on review of how employers in the UK are performing against the recommendations outlined in the McGregor-Smith Review ‘Race in the workplace’ was conducted in 2018 by Business in The Community and was sponsored by BEIS.
As the Government said in its response to the ‘McGregor-Smith Review’, this was an industry-led review with recommendations that are mostly for the private sector to consider. The Government remains committed to building an economy that works for everyone. This is a mission that needs to start from the top – Chairs, CEOs, and CFOs – to help effect the change and Government stands ready to support all businesses on this. As the Government noted in its response, it is important that all employers play their part in harnessing this potential.
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, which organisations the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets has met with to discuss mandatory pay gap reporting in the last month.
Answered by Paul Scully
Details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department are recorded in our transparency data, which is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
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 the Government will publish its response to the consultation on Ethnicity pay reporting, which closed on 11th January 2019.
Answered by Paul Scully
Following the consultation, Government met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers to reporting and explore what information could be published to allow for meaningful action to be taken. We also ran a voluntary methodology testing exercise with a broad range of businesses to better understand the complexities outlined in the consultation using real payroll data. The Government is continuing to analyse this data and will respond 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 steps the Government has taken to monitor progress against the recommendations of the Race in the workplace: the McGregor-Smith review, published on 28 February 2017.
Answered by Paul Scully
A one-year on review of how employers in the UK are performing against the recommendations outlined in the McGregor-Smith Review ‘Race in the workplace’ was conducted in 2018 by Business in The Community and was sponsored by BEIS.
As the Government said in its response to the ‘McGregor-Smith Review’, this was an industry-led review with recommendations that are mostly for the private sector to consider. The Government remains committed to building an economy that works for everyone. This is a mission that needs to start from the top – Chairs, CEOs, and CFOs – to help effect the change and Government stands ready to support all businesses on this. As the Government noted in its response, it is important that all employers play their part in harnessing this potential.
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 support he has made available to (a) private dental practices and (b) other healthcare providers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government’s ultimate priority has been to act to reduce the high levels of Covid-19 infection and we are taking many steps to protect the long-term financial future of all businesses during the current economic emergency.
The Government has introduced an unprecedented and comprehensive package of support to help as many individuals and businesses during this difficult period. This includes the small business grants, the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the deferral of VAT and income tax payments, and more.
On 24 September, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his Winter Economy Plan, setting out how current support will evolve and adapt as we move to the next stage of our economic plan. This includes extending and amending the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes to allow businesses more time and greater flexibility to repay their loans, the extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant, and the introduction of a new Jobs Support Scheme. These new measures are in addition to those announced in the Chancellor’s summer statement on 8 July, such as VAT rate cuts, the £1,000 Jobs Retention Bonus, and the Kickstart Scheme.
Businesses can also access tailored advice through our Freephone Business Support Helpline, online via the Business Support website or through their local Growth Hubs in England. Furthermore, the Recovery Advice for Business scheme, supported by the Government and hosted on the Enterprise Nation website, offers small firms access to free, one-to-one advice with an expert adviser to help them through the coronavirus pandemic and to prepare for long-term recovery. Further information can be found at: https://www.enterprisenation.com/freesupport/.
The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities, businesses, business representative organisations, and the financial services sector to monitor the implementation of current support.