Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many grant applications have been made to the Medical Research Council for ME/CFS related research since 2010; how many of those applications have been awarded funding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Since 2009/10, the Medical Research Council (MRC) has received 32 research proposals relating to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), seven of which have been funded.
The MRC supports research in response to proposals from the research community. High quality applications on any aspect of human health are always welcomed and awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the cost has been of the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into (a) Viagogo and (b) other secondary ticket sites.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The CMA is a non-Ministerial Department and is operationally independent.
The CMA has provided the following information: the CMA’s secondary tickets investigation cost £1.9 million to the end of 2018. However, a significant proportion of those costs relate to the CMA’s litigation against viagogo. Under the court order that the CMA secured against viagogo AG, viagogo AG will meet the CMA’s reasonable costs of those proceedings.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 adequacy of ministerial oversight of the Competition and Markets Authority; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is a non-Ministerial Department and is operationally independent. Under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the CMA must prepare an annual plan to be laid before Parliament and an annual report for my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State and officials of the Department also have regular contact with the CMA.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 his Department's internal review of workplace provision for parents of premature babies, what steps his Department is taking to understand the experiences of employed fathers with babies receiving neonatal care.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department is conducting a short, focussed internal review of the provisions for parents of premature and sick babies and those that experience multiple births. The purpose of this work is to obtain a high-level understanding of the barriers to participating in the labour market that these parents can face.
BEIS officials are working with organisations who represent the interests of these parents (The Smallest Things, Bliss, and TAMBA) to better understand the issues that parents can face and have also held focus groups with a small number of parents themselves.
We are also considering options for addressing other information gaps – including those that are attributable to regional variations in provision and experiences of parents.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 his Department's internal review of workplace provision for parents of premature babies, what steps his Department is taking to understand the experiences of those parents who live outside of London.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department is conducting a short, focussed internal review of the provisions for parents of premature and sick babies and those that experience multiple births. The purpose of this work is to obtain a high-level understanding of the barriers to participating in the labour market that these parents can face.
BEIS officials are working with organisations who represent the interests of these parents (The Smallest Things, Bliss, and TAMBA) to better understand the issues that parents can face and have also held focus groups with a small number of parents themselves.
We are also considering options for addressing other information gaps – including those that are attributable to regional variations in provision and experiences of parents.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
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 has consulted (a) parents, (b) employers and (c) other organisations as part of its internal review of workplace provision for parents of premature babies.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department is conducting a short, focussed internal review of the provisions for parents of premature and sick babies and those that experience multiple births. The purpose of this work is to obtain a high-level understanding of the barriers to participating in the labour market that these parents can face.
BEIS officials are working with organisations who represent the interests of these parents (The Smallest Things, Bliss, and TAMBA) to better understand the issues that parents can face and have also held focus groups with a small number of parents themselves.
We are also considering options for addressing other information gaps – including those that are attributable to regional variations in provision and experiences of parents.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion new mothers in England have taken their full maternity leave entitlement in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The most recent official data on average length of family-related leave taken by parents is from the Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey in 2009, which collected data from parents of children born in 2008 across Great Britain.
This shows that in 2008, 23% of employed mothers took their full statutory entitlement of 52 weeks of maternity leave or more (e.g. by taking annual leave in addition to Statutory Maternity Leave). According to the Labour Force Survey, in 2008 there were 350,000 employed mothers with a child under one.
The full Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey 2009/10 Research Report can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214367/rrep777.pdf . Information on the length of maternity leave is available in Tables 2.11 and 2.12.
We are currently commissioning a new survey which will provide updated information on family related leave and pay entitlements including Maternity Leave. Subject to the progress of data collection, we anticipate publishing findings in Summer 2019.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when food safety problems emerge at a facility covered by the Food Standards Agency primary authority (PA) scheme, but not located in the jurisdiction of the local authority that is the PA, which local authority is responsible for inspecting and auditing that facility.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Primary Authority is a scheme administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards on behalf of my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to improve businesses’ access to advice, and co-ordination of local authority regulation of businesses, including food standards regulation. National regulators such as the Foods Standards Agency may provide support to primary authorities.
Where a primary authority relationship exists with a food manufacturer/retailer, the local authority in whose area a facility is located remains responsible for dealing with food safety problems including enforcement of the food standards regulation in their local authority area.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help consumers save domestic household energy.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Clean Growth Strategy (the Strategy), sets out Government’s aspiration that as many homes as possible will be upgraded to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. To meet this aspiration, several policies and proposals, which will also help consumers to save domestic household energy, have been outlined in the Strategy, including:
1) Developing a long-term trajectory to improve the energy performance standards of privately rented homes, with the aim of upgrading as many homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2030 where practical, cost-effective and affordable. We will consider options by consulting on this in 2018 and looking at how social housing can meet equivalent standards over the same period.
2) Seeking evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, including additional measures to improve energy performance of owner occupied homes through a Call for Evidence published alongside the Clean Growth Strategy. This Call for Evidence closed on 9 January 2018. Following an evaluation of the responses, we will publish an action plan on additional market-based measures later in 2018.
3) Following the outcome of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, and subject to its conclusions, consulting on strengthening energy performance standards for new and existing homes under Building Regulations, including futureproofing new homes for low carbon heating systems.
4) We have recently consulted on reforms to ECO which would focus the whole scheme on low income and vulnerable households whilst encouraging more innovation so bring down the long-term costs of energy efficiency.
5) This proposal and our commitment to extend support for home energy efficiency improvements until 2028 at the current level of ECO funding, will support over £6 billion of investment over the next decade.
The Government has also committed to ensuring that every home and small business in the country is offered a smart meter by the end of 2020. Smart meters will enable customers to take control of their energy use, save money on bills and reduce their household energy.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to issue updated guidance on s90 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to take account of the changes made by the Digital Economy Act 2017.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Department has been consulting key stakeholders and will publish updated guidance on s.90 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 on the Business Companion website in due course.