Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his Department's policy that delivery drivers for (a) Uber Eats and (b) other online food ordering companies should receive the minimum wage.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government actively encourages businesses to treat workers fairly and in accordance with the law. The specific issues raised by the Honourable Member for Ilford South about UberEats and their drivers are internal matters of a private company on which I cannot comment.
An individual’s entitlement to employment rights such as the minimum wage are determined by their employment status (employee, limb (b) worker or self-employed). The Government recently published employment status guidance, making it easier for businesses to comply with existing regulations and for individuals to understand which employment protections apply to them.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) rate of pay and (b) employment conditions of Uber Eats drivers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government actively encourages businesses to treat workers fairly and in accordance with the law. The specific issues raised by the Honourable Member for Ilford South about UberEats and their drivers are internal matters of a private company on which I cannot comment.
An individual’s entitlement to employment rights such as the minimum wage are determined by their employment status (employee, limb (b) worker or self-employed). The Government recently published employment status guidance, making it easier for businesses to comply with existing regulations and for individuals to understand which employment protections apply to them.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 make it its policy to permanently cancel any plans to open new coal mines.
Answered by Graham Stuart
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 28th September 2022 to Question 51588.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have held with representatives of Uber since 2017.
Answered by Jane Hunt
Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of taxi and private hire vehicle stakeholders, including Uber. These meetings provide an opportunity to hear the views of the sector. Details of ministerial meetings from 2009 have been published and are available online. Meetings with officials are not published.
Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will take steps to support British manufacturers in producing right-hand-drive minibuses for passenger use.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The automotive sector is an important part of the Government’s plans for green growth, levelling up across our country and driving emissions to net zero by 2050.
The Government is committed to making the UK the best location to manufacture zero emission vehicles of all types.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing additional funding to retrofit homes in Ilford South constituency to help improve energy efficiency.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government sees improving the energy efficiency of homes as the best long-term solution to Improving energy efficiency. The UK has various schemes available including the Sustainable Warmth project, which comprises a third phase of the Local Authority Delivery scheme, as well as the first phase of the Home Upgrade Grant, which can be used for low-income households both on and off the gas grid respectively. These schemes form part of a wider package in which the Government is committing a further £3.9 bn over the next three years, taking total investment to over £6.6bn.
Through the recent Sustainable Warmth competition, grant funding has been offered to Local Authorities in every region across England to upgrade low-income households. The Greater London Authority was successful in their consortium bid and will receive funding to support households living in London Local Authorities, including Redbridge.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 help ensure that the UK meets its carbon reduction targets in conjunction with supporting developing countries reduce overall carbon emissions.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK is taking ambitious action through the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and landmark Net Zero Strategy to reach net zero, while creating jobs and reinvigorating new industries.
At the same time, the Government will support developing countries to decarbonise. Those efforts are at the heart of the UK’s COP Presidency and COP26, that took place in November 2021.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) short- and (b) long-term jobs that would be created by the Cambo oil field development.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government does not forecast estimates of the numbers of jobs associated with particular oil field developments as a matter of course, and this does not form part of the regulator’s decision-making processes.
The upstream oil and gas sector supports approximately 147,000 jobs both directly and in the supply chain. Many of these roles are highly skilled, providing quality employment for workers in locations right across the country and supporting many more local jobs.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 plans to take in response to the conclusion of the International Energy Agency that there can be no new oil, gas or coal development if the world is to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Answered by Greg Hands
Since 31 March 2021, the UK Government no longer provides any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, other than in limited circumstances, and is aligning its support to enable clean energy exports.
While the Government is working to drive down dependency for oil and gas, there will continue to be ongoing demand over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee. Given the maturity of the UK Continental Shelf, even with continued development, the UK is projected to remain a net importer out to 2050. The North Sea Transition Deal sets out a path for the UK to manage the transition away from fossil fuels, with a goal of achieving a net zero basin by this timeframe. Further, as announced earlier this year, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint for any new licences which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with its climate goals, including net zero.
The Government has committed to phasing out unabated coal generation in Great Britain by October 2024. Coal’s share of our electricity supply has already declined significantly in recent years – from almost 40% in 2012 to less than 2% in 2020.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 prioritise funding to improve energy efficiency to create jobs and reduce energy demand over investment in new oil and gas projects.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is committed to improving energy efficiency. We have recently committed £3.9 billion to decarbonising buildings over the next 3 years, taking our total investment to date during this parliament to almost £6.6bn
This will fund the next 3 years of investment through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant scheme, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Heat Networks Transformation Programme and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Alongside these schemes, the Government is already providing energy-efficiency upgrades such as insulation and low-carbon heating to around 50,000 homes through the Local Authority Delivery Scheme. Furthermore, the Energy Company Obligation scheme has installed 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes since 2013.
Through our first Net Zero Strategy, published 19 October 2021, we committed to grow green industries and supply chains in the UK, which will support up to 240,000 jobs by 2035, resulting in £10 billion additional GVA in the same timeframe.