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Written Question
Adoption: Self-employed
Monday 17th October 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 July 2022 to Question 39891 on Adoption: Self-employed, and with reference to the Explanatory Notes to the Employment Act 2002, whether it remains his Department's policy that paid adoption leave (a) provides time for the adoptive child and parent to adjust to their new relationships and (b) helps reduce the number of disrupted placements; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility to statutory maternity allowance to self-employed adopters.

Answered by Dean Russell

The Government recognises that it is crucial to the success of an adoption placement that an adopter takes time off work to care for and bond with their child. That is why employed adoptive parents have broadly the same rights and protections as birth parents.

We do not have any data on the number of disrupted early placements. Adoption disruption is rare and research in 2014 (Beyond the Adoption Order) suggested that any disruptions happen at a later stage, years after the adoption order has been made.

Maternity Allowance is primarily a health and safety provision intended to support women who have recently given birth to take time off to recover physically from their pregnancy and childbirth. It would therefore not be appropriate to extend this to self-employed adopters.


Written Question
Companies: Environment Protection and Human Rights
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

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 bring forward legislative proposals to enable people to seek redress from companies registered in the UK whose (a) supply chains and (b) subsidiaries are found to be complicit in (i) human rights and (ii) environmental abuses.

Answered by Jane Hunt

The Government expects UK businesses to respect human rights and the environment in line with the OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The UK’s National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines provides a non-judicial grievance mechanism to consider complaints against UK companies which may not have observed the Guidelines in their operations and supply chains overseas.

The Government has no current plans to propose legislation to introduce corporate liability of UK companies for human rights or environmental violations either by other companies in their supply chains or by their overseas subsidiaries


Written Question
Climate Change
Monday 11th July 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

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 impact of the UK's ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty on climate change.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty have reached an Agreement in Principle on modernisation of the Treaty. The modernised Treaty recognises the urgent need to address climate change and align with the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.

After adoption of the final text later this year, the modernised Treaty will come into force once the ratification requirements of the Treaty are met. When deciding whether to seek ratification of the modernised Treaty, the Government will consider its potential impact on all relevant Government objectives.


Written Question
Working Hours
Thursday 16th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

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 implications for his policies of the (a) nature and (b) impact of the pilot of the 32 hour, four day working week, currently being undertaken by 70 UK companies.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Government does not believe there can be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to work arrangements. That is why we put individual agency and choice at the heart of our consultation on “making flexible working the default”, which closed on 1st December 2021. We are currently reviewing the responses and will respond in due course.


Written Question
Insolvency Service: Bristol
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the (a) Bristol Chamber of Commerce and (b) Federation of Small Businesses were consulted on the decision to close the Insolvency Service office in Bristol.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Insolvency Service engaged with personal and business debt advice organisations over proposals to restructure its estate for improved efficiencies.


Written Question
Insolvency Service: Bristol
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol 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 the planned closure of the Insolvency Service Office in Bristol, where will interviews for individuals in that city requiring those services be carried out following the closure of that office.

Answered by Paul Scully

Following the closure of the Bristol Office in September 2024, interviews will be held in either a local interview facility or at one of the Insolvency Service 11 Regional Centres. Alternatively, interviews will be conducted remotely using telephone and online channels, this is already established practice where it works for the individual and the Service.


Written Question
Boilers: Natural Gas
Friday 20th May 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that residential users of communal gas boilers are protected by the energy price cap.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Queen’s Speech set out the Government’s commitment to legislating to regulate the heat networks market in this parliamentary session as part of the Energy Security Bill:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2022-background-briefing-notes.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Friday 11th March 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol 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 expects to start receiving supply of the Novavax covid-19 vaccine.

Answered by George Freeman

The UK will only receive a supply of the vaccines it needs to meet its vaccination programme. The Government will continue to be guided by the advice of the JCVI on which vaccines should be deployed in the UK’s vaccination programmes. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will provide advice to the Government, after taking into consideration the safety and efficacy of the Novavax vaccine.


Written Question
Electricity: Prices
Thursday 3rd March 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

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 establishing a long-term zero carbon electricity contracts market, as recommended in the UCL policy briefing entitled Delivering competitive industrial electricity prices in an era of transition, published on 9 September 2021.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government has made great strides in decarbonising power supply. However the Government is also aware that reaching Carbon Budget 6 and the 2050 Net Zero target may require additional policy changes to ensure the right market mechanisms are in place.

The Government is considering how policies should evolve and will continue to be guided by its commitment to meeting carbon budgets, maintaining energy security, and ensuring value for money for all electricity users.


Written Question
Postal Services: Standards
Monday 7th February 2022

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with representatives of Royal Mail on delays in postal services over Christmas 2021.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a range of issues.

Ofcom, the independent regulator, monitors Royal Mail’s performance and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action if Royal Mail fails to achieve its service delivery targets.

Royal Mail is required by Ofcom to publish quality of service reports on a quarterly basis and its next report, covering the period from October to December, is expected to be published later this month.