Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 implications for this Department's policies of the recommendation of the SAP Industry Forum’s April 2020 SAP 11 Technologies Report that biopropane should be modelled as fuel choice for heat in both new and existing buildings.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Department has commenced work on the development of the next version of the Standard Assessment Procedure, SAP 11. It will consider the SAP Industry Forum’s Report on the likely mainstream technologies for consideration in the mid-2020s as part of this. The Department has also commissioned a wider scoping project to advise more broadly on what SAP 11 will need to model and how it should do this. This project will further help to inform the development of SAP11 and is due to report back in February.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What plans his Department has to transform post offices into community hubs.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Post Offices are very much at the heart of their communities, often operating alongside other key community services such as libraries or pubs. Postmasters and the Post Office will continue to work with their communities to meet their needs.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 reduce barriers to the adoption of (a) biopropane and (b) other new low carbon fuels for use in heating in off-gas grid buildings.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government recognises?that biofuels, such as bioLPG and bioliquid alternatives to heating oil, may play a role in future off-gas grid decarbonisation. In 2018 BEIS ran an extensive programme of engagement with industry and consumers, to seek views on how industry, government and consumers could work together to phase out the installation of high carbon fossil fuels from homes and businesses off the gas grid. We will be consulting on proposals for this in due course.
The Clean Heat Grant Scheme, which will run from April 2022 to March 2024, aims to provide targeted support for proven and ready to deploy low-carbon heating technologies that demonstrate value for money and carbon cost-effectiveness. This will follow the existing Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. We are also expecting to publish the Clean Heat Grant consultation response and a Heat and Buildings Strategy, which will further expand on the Government’s strategic direction, in due course.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 support the Post Office during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government views the services provided by the Post Office as essential and that is why, on 23 March, the Government designated 'key worker' status to Postmasters and their staff, allowing their children to remain in school. This has meant that subject to social distancing guidelines, Post Office has sought to keep as many branches opens as possible during the Covid-19 outbreak. To support postmasters through this period, Post Office has provided income top ups to many thousands of branches in April, May and June.
This support backs Postmasters for their dedication and hard work in keeping their Post Office open and ensures that some of the country's most vulnerable people can continue to benefit from the essential services the Post Office provides.
BEIS continues to work with Post Office to ensure as many branches can remain open as possible and particularly that communities’ access to essential services is protected during this challenging time.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 has taken to help support people claim back their deposits from tour operators if in the event that overseas travel plans are affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority. If the CMA finds evidence that companies are failing to comply with the law, the CMA will take appropriate enforcement action, which could include taking a firm to court if it does not address its concerns.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 potential merits of adding the National Association of Sub-Postmasters to his Department's industry group.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has already established a quarterly working group between the BEIS Minister for Postal Affairs, the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters (NFSP) and Post Office Limited to discuss how the relationship between the Post Office and postmasters can be improved. The working group also provides the NFSP with a forum to challenge Government and the Post Office on key issues, such as postmaster remuneration and hard-to-place branches. Officials also meet the NFSP on a regular basis
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Post Office on their 100 day strategy for growth.
Answered by Paul Scully
The CEO of Post Office Limited regularly meet with BEIS Ministers, through scheduled monthly meetings with the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets as well as through wider Shareholder Meetings.
These meetings are held to discuss a range of matters including the development of the business’s new strategy under CEO Nick Read.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require large companies to pay smaller firms on time.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to delivering on our manifesto commitment to clamp down on late payment and strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) to support small businesses who are least able to cover financial shortfalls and find temporary finance more difficult and more expensive to obtain.
Legislation already exists under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which sets out that payment terms between two businesses should not exceed 60 days, unless they are fair to both parties.
Suppliers can also claim statutory interest, and debt recovery costs, on invoices not paid within the agreed period or (if no period is agreed) within 30 days. It also establishes maximum 30 day payment terms for transactions with public authorities.
We will shortly be consulting on the merits of extending the powers of the Office of the Small Business Commissioner to intervene and advocate for small businesses, with less than 50 employees, in payment disputes with a larger business (50 or more employees).
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much of the £2 billion investment in the Post Office network has been spent in North Cornwall.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Any allocation of funding to specific branches and regions is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to my hon Friend on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government-backed British business bank will help support small businesses in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We are committed to ensuring all small businesses have access to the support they need to succeed to start, grow, and scale their businesses.
The Government-backed British Business Bank is there to make finance markets work better for small businesses at all stages of their development. The Bank’s programmes are currently supporting over £6.6bn of finance to over 89,000 smaller businesses (as at end-March 2019). The British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans programme provides loans to entrepreneurs seeking to start and grow their own businesses. Since 2012, the programme has delivered almost 65,000 loans, worth nearly £511m to small businesses (as at end-June 2019).
In North Cornwall specifically, since 2014 the Bank has supported over £5.75m of finance to over 180 smaller businesses (as of July 2019). 99 Start-Up Loans have been issued in North Cornwall, totalling £912,033. The Bank’s programmes will continue to support smaller businesses in North Cornwall.
In June 2018, the British Business Bank launched the £40m Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) to provide debt and equity finance in this area. The fund has deployed £1.9m into 10 small businesses as at the end of May 2019.
The Bank’s online Finance Hub helps small business owners identify potential sources of finance via the finance finder web tool. The Business Bank has also established a UK Network, with team members based within each of the English regions and the three Devolved Nations, including a representative for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The UK Network works with small business finance intermediaries to enhance business finance ecosystems across the UK, so smaller businesses, wherever they are, can grow and prosper.