Oral Answers to Questions

Rosie Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 7th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Paul Scully]

I add my congratulations to my right hon. Friend on being honoured as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire—it is well deserved. The Government consulted on the misuse of confidentiality clauses between workers and their employees back in 2019. In response, we committed to legislating to ensure that employers are not able to intimidate victims into silence. We remain committed to doing so, and I will continue to work with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on ensuring that we introduce this necessary legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

18. Whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit fire and rehire practices.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Paul Scully)]

The Government will bring forward a new statutory code on the practice of fire and rehire. We will publish a draft for consultation in due course, and bring the code into force when parliamentary time allows.

[Rosie Cooper]

Last year, when British Gas threatened thousands of its staff with fire and rehire, one of my constituents wrote and told me that the “human cost” had been the saddest part, and that

“the mental health strain on me and my colleagues has been so very difficult to watch.”

Since 2020, almost 3 million workers have been told to reapply for their jobs, with worse conditions. I heard the Minister’s response to my initial question, but the question that is rebounding round the Chamber, to almost every answer I have heard so far, is not about the intention, but about when. Will the Minister commit today to bringing forward a no ifs, no buts ban on the abhorrent practice of fire and rehire?

[Paul Scully]

What we are not going to do is ban a situation that allows flexibility for employers that are in trouble. We are, however—[Interruption.] Well, it is all seen as black and white by the Opposition, but they are very anti-business in that. The hon. Lady cites an example, and there are human costs involved in the most egregious cases of fire and rehire. That is what we will be tackling through the statutory code that we will announce in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rosie Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Paul Scully]

We have worked with and supported the aviation sector in a number of different ways. We have also made it really clear that when companies want to make redundancies, they should follow the correct consultation process. It is important that we get the balance right to protect jobs for those companies.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of covid-19 financial relief in supporting growth in the hospitality sector.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Paul Scully)]

We have engaged with businesses to understand their needs at this challenging time. We are providing an unprecedented support package, including an extension of the coronavirus job retention scheme until 31 March 2021, grants, loans, rates relief and a VAT cut.

[Rosie Cooper [V]]

Many plumbers, electricians and other self-employed people, including sole traders, have been left out of Government support. What can the Minister say to people who have worked hard all their lives and paid their taxes, and have seen their businesses collapse through no fault of their own? This includes the hospitality sector. Can the Government commit to providing further support, as local publicans in my area say that the tiny grant they got does not even get close to covering their overheads?

[Paul Scully]

I was self-employed, running companies, for most of the 25 years that I was working before I was elected to this place; there but for the grace of God go I. I will continue to reflect the views of the self-employed in conversations with the Treasury. I also speak to the hospitality sector every single week and will be doing so later today. We have allocated £40 million extra to wet-led pubs, in addition to extending the moratorium on rent evictions and legal processes facing tenants, the VAT cut and the business rates relief.

Covid-19: Business

Rosie Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 12th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

My hon. Friend makes a good point about the challenges facing commercial and other landlords. I recognise that many landlords are working closely with their tenants and following best practice, and we are closely monitoring the three-month moratorium on rents. As I said, the CLBIL and CBIL schemes are available for landlords, and people are taking advantage of them in some numbers.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab) [V]]

How do the Government intend to ensure that the shielded group of people and their household members do not face an impossible choice between returning to work and breaching public health advice? Will the Secretary of State advise employers to use the job retention scheme for this group when needed?

[Alok Sharma]

Our guidance makes reference to employers having to consider those who are particularly vulnerable and in those sorts of categories—expectant mothers and so on—and we want them to make sure those people are being taken care of and catered for. None of the equalities legislation has changed; at the end of the day, this is guidance, but overlaid by the current regulatory regime in place across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rosie Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore]

We recently announced £26 million for, I think, 11 carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects across the UK, including Project Acorn in Scotland. I visited Tata Chemicals in Cheshire, which is the largest project in the UK; it is 100 times larger than other projects. The Committee on Climate Change report is absolutely clear that 50% of our carbon emission reductions will come from CCUS. We must continue to invest in that more and then take those innovations across the globe.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

T6. Could the Secretary of State respond to the findings of Citizens Advice that utility companies have overcharged customers by £24 billion over 15 years?

[Greg Clark]

As I said in answer to earlier questions, the Competition and Markets Authority has recognised the unacceptable position of loyal customers being overcharged, and it is acting to correct that, as we have done in this House when it comes to energy bills.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rosie Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 12th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I am glad the hon. Gentleman has raised this issue. We engage with the small business community, the wider business community and all business representation organisations on a weekly basis. It is quite right that we consult a plethora of businesses throughout the UK on any decision that will be taken on customs and tariffs. We will take into consideration their views when we set our policy, which will be announced in the near future.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

22. What plans his Department has to extend the amount of parental leave for people whose children have severe illnesses.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kelly Tolhurst)]

The Government are committed to supporting working families. We are conducting a short and focused review of the provisions for parents of premature, sick and multiple babies, focusing primarily on barriers to the labour market. I have met colleagues, Bliss and The Smallest Things.

[Rosie Cooper]

In response to the Minister’s reply, may I ask when that review will commence and when we can expect its conclusions?

Oral Answers to Questions

Rosie Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 1st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The sector deal will help, and has had an enthusiastic reception from the industry. This country is leading the way in the development of artificial intelligence. The Alan Turing Institute is attracting scholars from across the world. One part of the deal is to ensure that we have an extra 8,000 specialist computer science teachers in schools to ensure that the next generation can reap the rewards.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

T5. Will the Secretary of State make an assessment of the potential merits of placing a requirement on private businesses seeking the long-term lease of roofs for solar panel fittings to inform their potential customers of their mortgage providers’ policies on such fittings before the lease is agreed?

[The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth (Claire Perry)]

I will be happy to discuss the matter further with the hon. Lady. She has raised a hugely important point about how we include in a mortgage mix or a financing mix the value of companies and households installing measures to reduce their energy bills. The green finance taskforce, which has just reported to us, had some suggestions, and I would be delighted to discuss them further with the hon. Lady.