Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 support an increase in the number of local authorities providing electric charging points in their car parks.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is a demand-led funding scheme which assists local authorities with the cost of installing chargepoints in residential streets including in local authority owned car parks. The funding available is for 75% of the capital costs of procuring and installing the chargepoint, and is administered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). In October 2019, Secretary for State for Transport wrote to all local authorities encouraging them to send their strategies for infrastructure deployment and to take advantage of ORCS funding.
Last month we announced that Government funding will be doubled to £10 million for the installation of chargepoints on residential streets next year. This additional investment could fund up to another 3,600 chargepoints across the country.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the number of businesses that went into administration as a result of the cashflows of those businesses being affected by outstanding invoices in the latest period for which such information is available.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Insolvency Service publishes National Statistics on the total number of companies entering administration each calendar quarter at www.gov.uk and details of the circumstances leading to each administration must be provided by the administrator in the form of documents filed with Companies House.
The Government is completely focused on fulfilling its manifesto commitment to clamp down on late payments as part of its aim of making the UK the best place to work and grow a business. This includes strengthening the powers of the Small Business Commissioner to support small businesses that are exploited by their larger partners, strengthening the Prompt Payment Code, taking a tougher compliance approach with larger companies which includes greater transparency reporting requirements, and reviewing the role supply chain finance plays in prompt payment.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made in tackling the late payment of invoices by businesses.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The government is completely focussed on fulfilling our manifesto commitment to clamp down on late payment and strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner to support small businesses that are exploited by their larger partners.
Good progress is being made on the policies announced in our Government Response to the 2018 Call for Evidence to assess what further steps and intervention may be needed to create a responsible payment culture, where we will be:
o consulting on the merits of strengthening the Commissioner’s existing powers, to assist and advocate for small businesses in the area of late payments;
o strengthening and reforming the Prompt Payment Code and moving its administration to the Small Business Commissioner;
o taking a tough compliance approach to large companies who do not comply with the Payment Practices Reporting Duty. We have sent over 2,000 ‘help and enforcement’ letters to non-complaint companies and over 1,000 more unique companies have since filed reports;
o reviewing role supply chain finance plays in prompt payment & greater transparency in companies reporting supply chain finance.
In October we launched a Business Basics Fund competition of up to £1 million, which will encourage SMEs to utilise payment technology and boost productivity in SMEs by reducing the time taken to chase payments. Winners will be announced in April.
In November, the Financial Reporting Council issued an open letter to company report preparers recommending payment practices are reported in annual reports.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on support for UK alcoholic beverage manufacturers to export their products.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government provides a wide range of support to alcohol manufacturers – through trade shows, hosting bespoke ‘meet the buyer’ events in the UK and abroad, raising the sector’s profile at global events and tackling market access barriers.
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State would be happy to raise this issue with my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade when they meet later today.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 take steps to ensure that any items in stock in charity shops on 29 March 2019 are not required to change their CE labels to bespoke UK labels in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government has taken the decision, in the event that we leave the EU without a deal, to provide continuity to minimise disruption to businesses and consumers. This means that goods with a CE Marking can still be sold in the UK for a time-limited period after 29 March 2019 without any need for relabelling, so long as they meet the relevant EU rules. Charity shops will not need to relabel CE-marked items in stock on 29 March 2019.
In terms of goods in stock that are second-hand, these already do not generally require relabelling as long as they met the relevant rules at the time they were first sold, and as long as the retailer ensures they remain safe.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 take steps to ensure that second hand goods can be sold in perpetuity by charity shops even if they only have a CE label in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
CE marking is a declaration that a product compiled with relevant EU legislation when it was initially placed on the EU market. A product does not generally have to be relabelled if it has already been placed on the market and is then later sold as second hand. The retailer does, however, have to ensure those goods are safe.
Charity retailers can therefore already continue to sell second-hand goods without needing to relabel them, as long as they are safe. This is not time-limited and will remain the case even in a scenario where the CE marking is no longer accepted for new goods being placed on the UK market.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 effect on (a) charity shops and (b) other second hand retailers of plans to replace CE markings with a bespoke UK mark in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In the unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, CE marked goods that meet EU requirements will continue to be recognised for the UK market for a time-limited period. This means that charity shops and second-hand retailers can, during this period, continue to sell products with CE marking, as before. This will minimise costs to business and consumers.
Before taking any decision to end the period of recognition of CE marking, we will launch a full and thorough consultation with business, including charity retailers.
In terms of selling second-hand goods specifically, then as long as those goods were compliant when first sold in the UK, they do not generally need relabelling before being sold second-hand as long as they are safe. This would still be the case even when the period of ongoing recognition for CE-marking comes to an end.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what grace period is planned for retailers to adapt to the replacement of CE markings in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Government has decided that, for a time limited period, goods that are CE marked will continue to be recognised and available for sale on the UK market. Before taking any decision to end the period of recognition of CE marking, we will consult with business.
However, for products that require third party assessment of conformity, and where this assessment has been carried out by a UK conformity assessment body and the certificate of conformity has not been transferred to an EU conformity assessment body, the European CE marking will not be able to be applied to that product. Instead, the UK marking will have to be applied in order to place that good on the UK market after 29 March 2019.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 effect on (a) charity shops and (b) other second hand retailers of plans to replace Conformité Européene markings with a UK mark in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, the Government is taking the decision to adopt a continuity approach in some areas, such as CE marked products, and continue to recognise CE marking as now. This means that charity retailers and other second-hand retailers can continue to place second hand goods with CE marking on the UK market, as before, for a time-limited period. There will be no need to reassess or re-mark goods, thereby minimising costs to business and consumers.
As products that meet EU requirements can continue to be placed on the UK market without any need for reassessment or re-marking, CE marked products will therefore not be required to be re-marked with a UK Marking. This includes second hand products.
We will consult with business, including charity retailers, before taking any decision to end the period of recognition of the CE marking.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 period of time that will be provided to retailers to adapt to the replacement of Conformité Européene markings in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, goods that are CE marked will continue to be recognised for a time-limited period.
We recognise that adequate notice will need to be given to businesses of any change to the period in order to enable them to adapt. In the event of no deal, we will consult with businesses, including retailers, before taking any decision to end the period of recognition.