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 households without access to the internet are excluded from the Green Deal scheme; and whether he is taking steps to ensure that that scheme is open to everyone.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Green Deal scheme closed in 2015. The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme launched on 30th September 2020 and the scheme administrator will offer alternative means to apply such as by telephone or post.
The scheme is open to all homeowners including park homes on a residential site (including Gypsy and Traveller sites) and residential landlords in private or social rented sectors (including local authorities and housing associations).
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, whether his Department has conducted Equalities Impact Assessments on its covid-19 policies.
Answered by Paul Scully
All BEIS policies are assessed against their impact on equality. Where the Department’s Covid-19 interventions have been introduced at pace, impact assessments have sometimes been done in parallel with implementation. In cases where schemes are implemented by parties outside the department, delivery partners are required to adhere to all legal requirements and equality assessments.
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 are being taken to protect pregnant women who are unable to work from home.
Answered by Paul Scully
Government advice is clear. If at all possible, people should work at home and where they cannot, employers should ensure that the work environment is a safe one and follow all relevant public health guidance. This advice applies equally to pregnant women.
Government is determined to ensure that pregnant women do not suffer detriment at work in any circumstances, including where they have followed public heath guidance.
The Coronavirus outbreak has not changed the law on pregnancy and maternity discrimination. There is no place for it under any circumstances. If a pregnant woman is dismissed or made redundant on the grounds of her pregnancy, this is automatically unfair dismissal.
Under Health and Safety at Work legislation, it remains the employer’s responsibility to put in place arrangements to control health and safety risks. There are already specific requirements in place for pregnant workers and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets out the expectations around risk assessments, finding alternative work and medical suspension. HSE will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks where it is clear an employer is not following PHE guidance properly.
In terms of new specific coronavirus interventions, Government guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme makes it clear that pregnant women can be furloughed if they and their employer agree, and provided they meet the normal eligibility requirements.
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 provide stability for businesses as the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The UK and EU have reached agreement on an implementation period that will operate from 30 March 2019 until 31 December 2020. During this period, market access to the EU will continue on current terms, enabling businesses to trade as now.
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 the Government will ensure that the same level of rights under the EU unregistered designs regime is maintained in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
As stated in the UK Technical Note on “Other Separation Issues” – where the UK does not have existing domestic legislation to protect certain types of rights, it will establish new schemes. This will preserve the full scope of the unregistered Community design right in the UK
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 intellectual property protections and enforcement measures counterfeiting authorities may use for counterfeiting and piracy of designs made by 3D printing.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Intellectual property protections apply to designs replicated by 3D printing in the same way as they apply to articles created by more traditional manufacturing processes. The protection and enforcement measures available will vary according to what rights exist in the design, and the circumstances of each case, but these could include both civil and criminal sanctions. Relevant protections could include copyright, registered and unregistered design rights, patents or trade marks.
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 intellectual property protections and enforcement measures counterfeiting authorities may use for counterfeiting and piracy of designs made by 3D printing.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Intellectual property protections apply to designs replicated by 3D printing in the same way as they apply to articles created by more traditional manufacturing processes. The protection and enforcement measures available will vary according to what rights exist in the design, and the circumstances of each case, but these could include both civil and criminal sanctions. Relevant protections could include copyright, registered and unregistered design rights, patents or trade marks.
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 discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on incorporating disability employment policy in the wider industrial strategy.
Answered by Claire Perry
Ministers and officials in the Department have regular discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions about a range of issues including disability employment, industrial strategy and the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices.
Areas of collaboration between our Departments include those outlined in the publications “Fuller Working Lives: a partnership approach” and “Work, Health and Disability: Improving Lives”. Our Industrial Strategy’s core objective will be to boost earning power for everyone; an inclusive economic policy is vital in achieving this.