Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent representations her Department has received on the sale of fireworks to the general public.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has been working to develop a fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks. We have received representations from a range of stakeholders including members of the public, organisations and charities, representing a range of views, including on the sale of fireworks to the general public. Most recently we have received the Scottish Government’s response to their consultation on fireworks in Scotland, which we will consider as part of the work on the evidence base.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
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 ensure that restaurants are prevented from making deductions from money left for staff by diners.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through the Good Work Plan we have committed to legislate on a range of areas to enhance workers’ rights, including to ensure that all tips left to workers go to them in full.
We expect over a million workers to benefit, many of whom are in low-paid jobs. Consumers will have reassurance that the money they leave in good faith is going to the staff, as they intended.
We have been working closely with stakeholders and across Government to prepare this legislation, and will lay measures to implement the Good Work Plan in Parliament as soon as possible.
The Good Work Plan set out an ambitious programme to take forward 51 of the 53 recommendations made in the Taylor Review. We have already implemented key commitments, with Parliament recently passing secondary legislation we brought forward to increase workers’ rights and protections, and improve transparency for workers, from day one.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
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 ensure that consumers are protected from household appliances that are found to be faulty.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) sets out the standards consumers can expect of the goods they obtain from traders and remedies if these rights are breached. Under the CRA goods sold by traders must be as described, of a satisfactory quality, and fit for a particular purpose if that purpose was made known to the trader by the consumer before the contract was made.
Consumers have a 30-day time period from delivery and/or installation when they can return sub-standard goods and get a full refund. After 30 days consumers are entitled to require the trader to repair or replace faulty goods within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer. If this cannot be met, the consumer would be entitled to a final right of rejection with full refund or the right to keep the goods and receive a partial refund.
Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 where a product is found to be unsafe appropriate action must be taken by the manufacturer or importer to withdraw, recall or otherwise bring the equipment into conformity.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards commissioned a new British Standards Institution code of practice on recalls and corrective actions last year and is working with UK manufacturers and suppliers of white goods to ensure that their recall plans and processes are adequate as part of a new compliance review programme.
For free advice and information on their rights, consumers should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/). However, if the consumer resides in Scotland, they should contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 (www.consumeradvice.scot).
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on creating a UK cosmetics portal as part of preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The UK’s new cosmetics database is being developed by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). OPSS have worked closely with cosmetics businesses in creating the database, which is currently undergoing testing with the sector.
OPSS will continue to communicate with businesses, trade associations and other regulators regarding the steps businesses need to take for notification of new and existing products.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department is having with the cosmetics industry on implications for that industry of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Officials have been working closely with the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) and individual businesses to help them prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU. This includes helping the CTPA prepare their guidance for the UK leaving the EU, including in the event of leaving without a deal, as well as attending industry events and engaging with individual businesses.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
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 is providing financial support to the cosmetics industry as part of preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Delivering a deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority. However, officials have been working closely with the cosmetics industry to reduce the potential impact on them should the UK leave the EU without a deal, including providing for transitional arrangements for labelling changes and appropriate levels of notification for cosmetic products already on the market. There are no further plans to provide financial support to the cosmetics industry as part of the UK’s preparations for EU exit.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what financial support the Government is providing to small and medium-sized businesses in the renewables sector.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK is a world leader in clean growth and much of the UK’s renewable electricity sector is comprised of small and medium sized businesses. Small and medium-sized businesses in the renewables sector benefit from a range of support delivered as a result of Government policies, for example through the contracts for difference, the feed in tariff and the renewable heat incentive policies. In addition, the Government is investing £2.5 billion to support low carbon innovation in the UK between 2015 and 2021 and are making clean growth a priority of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
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 bring the Small Business Saturday 2017 roadshow to Inverclyde.
Answered by Margot James
The organisation of Small Business Saturday is managed by Small Business Saturday UK. To request a visit to Inverclyde you can contact them via their website https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com.
The Department is fully supportive of the Small Business Saturday campaign and recognises the role it plays in highlighting the importance of small businesses to the local community and the UK as a whole.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average length of time is that feed-in tariff applications have been queued since applying for full accreditation; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the timelines of that accreditation process.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided. Those applications still in the process after 12 weeks are likely to be complex or require further clarification from the applicant. The average time that full accreditation applications have been in the queue since applying is currently five and a half months.
Ofgem is committed to continuous improvement of accreditation processes and works with applicants to get applications approved as quickly as possible. In order to accomplish this Ofgem has now doubled the level of staffing in this area and made process improvements.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure all Feed-in-Tariff applications from small and medium-sized enterprises are dealt with in 60 days.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided. Those applications still in the process after 12 weeks are likely to be complex or require further clarification from the applicant.
Ofgem is committed to continuous improvement of accreditation processes and works with applicants to get applications approved as quickly as possible. In order to accomplish this Ofgem has now doubled the level of staffing in this area and made process improvements.