Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the competent person schemes model for domestic electrical installation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government takes electrical safety very seriously and the Building Regulations require work to homes’ fixed electrical systems to be carried out safely to protect people from fire and injury. Government-backed schemes exist to ensure domestic electricians are qualified and registered and can self-certify their work. This is an essential part of safety protections and is one of several schemes – called the competent person schemes – that oversee the competence of tradespeople in many disciplines by considering their qualifications and experience as well as inspecting samples of their work. There are no plans to replace this model. Government does consider applications from new scheme providers periodically but there are no plans currently to invite new applications.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department are taking to help protect properties bordering (a) the Bridgwater Canal, (b) the Manchester Ship Canal and (c) other (i) natural and (ii) artificial waterways in Worsley and Eccles constituency from flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) does not have any regulatory powers for flood risk management for the Bridgewater Canal or Manchester Ship Canal which are both privately owned assets. The owners are responsible for operating and maintaining their assets.
The EA responded during the recent incident in Little Bollington, Cheshire, and continues to support this area during the recovery period.
The EA has permissive powers to undertake maintenance on Main Rivers including vegetation clearance and removal of blockages. Within this constituency there are 8 debris screens on Main Rivers that the EA own, maintain, and clear. Debris screens stop debris entering culverts which if blocked can cause flooding. Before and during heavy rainfall the EA clears debris from these screens. The EA also work closely with partners, including Salford CC and United Utilities to have a strategic overview of all sources of flooding.
Within the Worsley Brook area the EA has 4 flood warning areas where they a offer a flood warning service to over 330 properties. There are also a further 4 flood warnings areas within the wider constituency, where a further 315 properties are able to receive a flood warning enabling them to take action when flooding is expected.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many workers earn under the lower earnings limit in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s latest estimate is that in Quarter 1 of the financial year 2022/23 there were around 1-1.3 million employees in the UK who earned below the LEL. This figure does not include workers who are self-employed.
Of these employees, (a) 86% were in England, (b) 7% were in Scotland, (c) 4% were in Wales and (d) 3% were in Northern Ireland.
These figures are drawn from the published estimates from the Department’s Statutory Sick Pay Regulatory Impact Assessment: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6715f848386bf0964853d848/Impact_assessment_improve_access_statutory_sick_pay_removing_lower_earnings_limit_removing_waiting_period.pdf