Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release of 12 December 2020, PM announces the UK will end support for fossil fuel sector overseas, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing that policy with immediate effect.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The related consultation launched by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 12 December 2020, ‘Aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition’, set out four possible timing options for implementation of the above referenced policy shift – March 2021, June 2021, October 2021 and Later than 2021. The consultation closed on 8 February 2021, the Government is considering the evidence received, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will provide additional financial support to the wedding industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
I meet regularly with the industry-led Weddings Taskforce to understand the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and jobs in the sector.
Over the course of the pandemic the Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support to businesses, including those in the wedding sector, which we keep under regular review.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the covid-19 pandemic on travel agencies.
Answered by Paul Scully
We know how difficult the current national and international restrictions are for the travel sector, with businesses having already faced many months of reduced trade. Impacted businesses can access a range of Government support measures, including the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes, as well as various government-backed loans.
We are regularly assessing Covid-19’s impact on tourism businesses and are continuing to engage across Government and with stakeholders - such as the Association of British Travel Agents and Association of Independent Tour Operators - to assess how we can most effectively support the recovery of travel and tourism across the UK.
The Government has also committed to producing a Tourism Recovery Plan setting out the transformation and growth of the sector over the next five years as part of our economic recovery.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to provide targeted financial support for the travel agency industry during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
We recognise that these are extremely challenging conditions for businesses in the travel sector, including tour operators and travel agents, which is why we’ve provided a range of targeted measures to see the sector through COVID-19.
On top of our wider economic support package, we've provided business rates relief and one-off grants for eligible hospitality and leisure businesses – and we’ve cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities from 20% to 5% until the end of March.
Additionally, on 18 July the Government announced that ATOL-protected holidaymakers can book with confidence following confirmation that the Government will protect refund credit notes offered if packages are cancelled as a result of COVID-19.