Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What steps he is taking to support high street businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
Our comprehensive economic response for business is worth over £352bn, including grants, the furlough scheme and tax deferrals. We recently published the Build Back Better High Streets Strategy, which sets out Government’s long-term plan to support the regeneration of high streets across the UK.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will consult with groups representing blind and partially-sighted people on the potential merits of reforming the safety information wording contained in household appliance instructions, previously governed by EU law, to make that information more inclusive.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Office for Product Safety and Standards recently ran an open Call for Evidence, seeking views and evidence from a wide range of stakeholders about a review of the product safety framework in the UK. One of the core themes of the Call for Evidence was diversity and inclusion, which asked whether the current framework adequately protects all people in society, including vulnerable groups and those with particular needs. The Call for Evidence closed on 17 June and officials are currently analysing responses. The Office for Product Safety and Standards will continue to work with stakeholder groups over the course of the review, including engaging with specific groups as policy proposals are developed.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people volunteered to participate in Novavax trials.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Since the end of September 2020, Novavax recruited more than 15,000 participants aged 18 to 84 years old for the UK COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) volunteer registry.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Oxford/AstraZenica vaccines were exported from the UK to Australia in late February and early March 2021.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The details of any commercial vaccine supply agreements between national governments and AstraZeneca are a matter for those two parties.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2021 to Question 164672, on Re-employment, how many (a) employer and (b) employee groups Acas spoke to, by business sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
Input was received from a balanced range of participants from 15 organisations, covering employer and employee groups and other professional bodies. Individually and collectively these covered a very wide range of business sectors.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2021 to Question 164672, on Re-employment, if he will list the (a) employer bodies, (b) trade unions and (c) professional bodies with advisory contact with employers, such as employment lawyers, accountants, and payroll services, that were consulted in the Acas investigation into fire and rehire practices.
Answered by Paul Scully
Acas spoke to a wide range of groups from across the business sector, both employer and employee groups, on the prevalence and use of fire and rehire practices.
Acas guaranteed the anonymity of their participants in order to maintain the confidentiality that is necessary to enable frank and open conversations on these matters.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2021 to Question 164672, on Re-employment, what the terms of reference for the Acas investigation into fire and rehire practices were.
Answered by Paul Scully
Due to the limited evidence available on the use of fire and rehire practices among employers, BEIS officials engaged Acas to hold independent and impartial conversations with stakeholders to gather evidence.
Acas spoke to a wide range of groups from across the business sector, both employer and employee groups. Acas guaranteed the anonymity of their participants to maintain the confidentiality needed to enable frank and open conversations on these matters.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans there are to process applications and payments of Small Business Grants delayed where decisions from the Valuation Office Agency were still outstanding at 30 October 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has put forward an unprecedented package of support for businesses to help with ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This included the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF), the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF) and the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund (LADGF).
We asked Local Authorities to close the SBGF, RHLGF and LADGF schemes by 28 August 2020, and to ensure that, where any payments were still in process, they were completed by 30 September. The only exceptions were those relating to a VOA / Ombudsman query in which case payments could be made until 30 October. The schemes are now closed.
Local Authorities have also been provided with further funding via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). The ARG is a discretionary scheme which is formula based. Eligibility for the ARG is set locally, and guidance makes clear that Local Authorities may use this funding for grants or for other related business support as they see fit.